


The Avatar Was Here All Along

by ThePinkTeenager



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Disabled Character, Dead Aang (Avatar), Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inhabited Eastern Air Temple, Katara and Sokka on their own, Kiyi is 10, Pet eagle hawk, Secret Identity, Surviving Air Nomads (Avatar), Toph shows up eventually, Where the hell is the Avatar?, Who the hell is the Avatar?, Zuko is very lost, fire and water, no beta we die like Jet(whatever that means), really long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28764078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePinkTeenager/pseuds/ThePinkTeenager
Summary: Zuko is the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation; or at least he was before his banishment. Now he is searching for the Avatar- a task that would be much easier if the Avatar had a face. As it is, he or she could be anyone. But Zuko is not a quitter, so he keeps searching.Aang was the Avatar once. A hundred years ago, he emerged from ice to find his people had been killed by the Fire Nation. They were trying to kill the Avatar. Ironically, Aang was one of only a handful of surviving Air Nomads. He had nothing except Appa, his glider, and his grief.Katara is the chief’s daughter and the only waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe. She and her brother leave their grandmother and tribe so Katara can master bending. On the open ocean, Katara gets the feeling that someone’s following them.Toph is a wealthy blind girl. Her parents have sheltered her to the extreme since she was a baby. They think that’s the only way to keep her safe. But they don’t know that she can move boulders with a flick of her wrist. They don’t know that she can fight.Four young benders. Four cultures. One insanely complicated story.
Relationships: Jet/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Zuko & Katara & Sokka & Toph & Original Characters
Kudos: 14





	1. The Southern Water Tribe

**Author's Note:**

> Each chapter is divided into three parts told by different characters. The first part is Zuko, the third part is Katara, and the second part changes narrators. A few narrators are actually past Avatars; they will be marked as such.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko is frustrated with his failure to find the Avatar. Aang leaves his Water Tribe girlfriend to learn earthbending. Katara tried to teach herself waterbending. Her tribe gets an unexpected visitor.

## Zuko

Zuko looked out at the sunset. It was one of the few things he liked about this ship. He wished he could be back home in the Fire Nation, but he couldn’t. Fire Lord Ozai had banished him three years earlier. He could only return if he captured the Avatar, restoring his honor. 

But there was a problem. The Avatar was dead. The citizens of the Earth Kingdom had told him that over and over. Which meant a new Avatar had been born… in the Fire Nation. The very place where Zuko could not go. 

A crew member had mentioned one tiny glimmer of hope. The Fire Nation’s failure to identify an Avatar meant that the kid could’ve died. In that case, the best place to look was the Southern Water Tribe, where Avatar Aang once lived. The nearby Air Temple would’ve been better, but it was inaccessible. 

“Want some dinner?” his uncle asked. 

Zuko turned around. “Not yet.” he said. “I need to practice my firebending.” 

“Zuko,” said his uncle, “the Avatar is a child. You won’t need to fight him.” 

“No, but I’ll need to fight the people who are protecting him.” responded Zuko. 

“They’re protecting him for a reason.” 

“You know why I’m looking for him!” Zuko snapped. “I can’t go home empty-handed.” 

“Yes, I know.” said his uncle. “But there are two sides to every story.” 

“Uncle, now is not the time for philosophy.” 

“No. It is time for dinner.” 

Zuko sighed. “I’ll go in and eat.” 

Zuko turned around and went with his uncle to the dining room. 

## Aang- 97 Years Earlier

Aang didn’t want to leave Myka. She loved him and had helped him when he’d lost everything. They learned waterbending together. They’d even slid on penguins together. But he had to leave to learn earthbending. And Myka was strictly a waterbender. She’d have to stay here. 

“I’ll be fine, Aang.” she reassured him. “We have soldiers to guard the tribe. It’s you that I’m worried about.” 

“You’re father’s sending two of his best soldiers with me.” he said. “Besides, I’m the Avatar.” 

Myka giggled. “Right.” she said. Then she kissed him. Aang returned the kiss, not knowing if it would be their last. 

“Goodbye, Aang.” said Myka. 

“Goodbye, Myka.” 

Aang climbed onto his beloved flying bison Appa. Three years earlier, he and Appa had run away. When they returned home, all the monks who’d raised Aang were dead. They’d been killed by the Fire Nation. The grieving young Avatar had been taken in by the Southern Water Tribe. And now he was leaving them. 

“I’ll come back.” he said. “I promise.” 

When both soldiers were on, he sat on Appa’s enormous head. “Appa, yip yip!” he directed. Appa launched his massive body into the air. As they ascended, Aang looked back at the Southern Water Tribe. He would see them again. He was sure of it. 

The Earth Kingdom wasn’t too far away. Aang and the two soldiers put on disguises so they looked like ordinary Earth Kingdom citizens. Appa was a bit harder to hide, so they hid him in the forest. The first place they set foot on was Kyoshi Island. Aang saw giant fish leap out of the water. Suddenly, he leaped out as well. 

“Aang!” shouted one soldier. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m riding the fish.” he said. “Wanna join me?” 

“No.” 

Suddenly, the soldiers screamed. “Aang! Come back! Watch out!” 

Aang looked around and saw a huge black sea monster trying to eat him. He jumped on the back of its head and waited for the right moment. Then he leaped, using airbending to fly safely to the shore. 

“That was intense.” said Aang. 

The residents of Kyoshi Island were suspicious, but Aang convinced them that he meant no harm. He even bowed to the statue of Avatar Kyoshi. Aang knew her. In fact, he kind of admired her. She, however, was long dead. All the previous Avatars were dead, existing only in the spirit world. 

The island was home to a group of female warriors known as the Kyoshi Warriors. One of them mentioned that the Earth Kingdom had attacked the Fire Nation. 

“And are you going to join them?” asked Aang. 

“We’re not sure yet.” she said. “We would rather not, but if the war gets worse, we won’t have a choice.” 

Later, Aang asked where he could find an earthbending teacher. 

“We have one on the island.” said the warrior. “Her name is Suma, and she’s been teaching for years.” 

“Thanks.” said Aang. 

“Wait-” said the warrior, but Aang was already leaving. 

The next morning, he went around the village, looking for Suma. It didn’t take long; everyone seemed to know where she lived. Aang found her in her yard, gardening. 

“Who are you, and what do you want?” she asked. 

“I’m looking for an earthbending teacher.” said Aang. “My name is Aang.” 

“Aang, eh?” said Suma. “Funny name. You must not be from around here. What makes you think I’ll teach you?” 

“I’ll help you garden.” he offered. 

“No thanks. I enjoy gardening.” said the master. 

“I’ll clean your floors, then.” he said. 

“Offer accepted.” said Suma. “Now show me what you know.” 

“I don’t know anything about earthbending.” said Aang. 

“We’ll start at the beginning, then.” said Suma. “Plant your feet on the ground a few feet apart.” 

Aang did what she asked. She shoved him lightly, throwing off his balance. 

“Not steady enough.” she said. “Really dig ‘em in, and point your toes out a bit. And for crying out loud, bend your knees! Stick knees will do you no good.” 

This went on for several days. Aang did exactly what Suma wanted, but it didn’t work. He couldn’t move even the smallest rock. Suma was disappointed with his lack of progress. 

“Are you even a bender?” she asked. 

“I swear I am!” Aang insisted. 

Eventually, Suma tried a different tactic. She would roll a small boulder down a hill and Aang would have to stop it. The first time, Aang panicked and dashed away at the last minute. 

“No, no no!” scolded Suma. “That’s cheating! You must stand in front of the rock the whole time. Either stop it or be crushed by it.” 

So they tried again. Aang stood in front of the rock. Suma chained his feet to the ground so he couldn’t run away. Aang held his hands out as the rock started rolling. It kept going down the hill, moving faster and faster. He had to stop it or else it would crush him. 

“Push it!” shouted Suma. 

Aang pretended he was pushing the rock. Though he couldn’t reach it, the rock inexplicably slowed down a bit. It didn’t stop until it hit his palms, shoving him backwards. 

“Okay, that’s a start.” said Suma. “Now you need to stop it _before_ it hits you.” 

## Katara

Katara leaned over the side of the rowboat, being careful not to tip it. _You can do this_ , she thought. _Just bend the water towards you_ . She knew how to do that. Next, she would move it to the left, over, and- _splash!_

The water fell all over the rowboat and Katara’s brother Sokka. “Sorry!” she said. 

“How come I’m always the one that gets wet?” he asked. 

Katara had no idea. All she knew was that she was the only bender in her tribe and therefore, nobody could teach it to her. She had to teach herself. 

“Any luck with the fish?” she asked. 

“Not really.” he said. “You wanna bend some of those into the bucket or something?” 

“Very funny.” she said. “I’ll row.” 

Suddenly, Katara saw something in the distance. “Sokka?” she said nervously. 

“Yeah?” 

“I think I saw a gray ship.” 

“A gray ship? Do you think it’s the Fire Nation?” he asked. 

“Maybe.” she said. 

“We should get home. Don’t waterbend.” commanded Sokka. 

The two kids rowed home as fast as they could. 

Back home, their grandmother and cousins were waiting for them. “Did you get any fish?” asked their grandmother. 

“A few.” said Sokka. “But there’s something else. Katara saw a Fire Nation ship.” 

The old woman looked at Katara. “Are you sure?” she asked. 

“Not really.” said Katara. 

Just then, one of the kids spit out snow. “This snow tastes funny.” he complained. 

Katara, Sokka, and their grandmother examined the snow. “Ash.” said the old woman. “Katara, go inside with the kids. Make sure none of you are seen. Sokka, stay out here. We’ll need your help.” 

Katara pulled on her cousins’ sleeves. “Come on.” she said. “We need to hide.” 

Katara and the children ran inside their grandmother’s house. Katara made sure the children stayed hidden while she peeked through the door. What she saw surprised her. 

The men on the ship were, in fact, from the Fire Nation, but there were only two of them. One was an older man; the other was a boy about Sokka’s age. 

“We don’t have any waterbenders.” her grandmother lied. “You captured the last one.” 

“I don’t want waterbenders.” said the boy. “I want the Avatar.” 

“Well, he’s not here.” said Sokka. 

“Of course he’s not here.” said his grandmother. “He’s an earthbender, isn’t he?” 

“Avatar Yaogun is dead.” said the boy. 

“Then the Avatar is in the Fire Nation.” the old woman said calmly. “Please, go back to where you came from.” 

“She’s right, Prince Zuko.” said the older man. “There’s no way the Avatar could be living here.” 

“What about the Airbenders?” asked Prince Zuko. 

“They left ages ago.” said Sokka’s grandmother. 

“There’s no point in interrogating these people.” said the man. “Let’s go.” 

“Fine.” Zuko crossed his arms and grudgingly followed his companion. 

When they were out of sight, Sokka opened the door. “Coast is clear.” he said. “They weren’t raiders anyway. They were looking for the Avatar.” 

“I know.” said Katara. “I was watching. What I don’t get is why they’d be looking here.” 

“Wasn’t Avatar Dara from our tribe?” asked Sokka. 

“She was.” said his grandmother. “But she died over sixty years ago. The poor girl was only nineteen.” 

Katara didn’t like the thought of that. She knew that waterbenders of all ages had been captured. She remembered losing her own mother, who pretended to be a bender to protect her daughter. 

The next morning, Katara did something bold. She decided to tell her grandmother during breakfast. 

“Gran-gran,” said Katara while eating stewed seaweed, “there’s something I need to tell you.” 

“What is it, sweetie?” asked Gran-gran. 

“I need to go to the Northern Water Tribe to learn waterbending.” 

“No.” she said. “It’s too dangerous.” 

“Please.” Katara begged. “With Dad and all the men gone, it’s on us to protect the village. I can’t shoot as well as Sokka can; I need bending. The Northern waterbenders can teach me how to defend the village.” 

“And who’s going to protect you until then?” asked Gran-gran. 

“Sokka.” 

Sokka was not thrilled about the involuntary commitment, but he went anyway. They had a boat packed with supplies and a map. Right before they left, Gran-gran and the children hugged them. 

“Be safe.” she said. 

“We will.” said Katara. “I promise.” 

“Bye, Katara!” said the kids. “Bye, Sokka!” 

Katara and Sokka waved to their cousins while rowing the boat. The people on the shore got smaller and smaller until they were gone. It was just Katara and her brother on the vast ocean. 


	2. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko remembers being different from others as a child. Aang disguises himself and bravely learns firebending from a master. Katara and Sokka attempt to reach the North Pole, but someone follows them.

#  Chapter Two: The Search 

##  Zuko

They were leaving. Two people from the Southern Water Tribe had rowed away. They looked young; barely more than children. Zuko had no idea where they were going, but he also had zero leads on the Avatar’s whereabouts. Wherever these kids were going, there was something. 

“Follow that boat.” he commanded the crew. 

“Prince Zuko, what are you doing?” asked his uncle. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” he snapped. “I’m following the boat.” 

“They don’t know where the Avatar is.” his uncle responded. “That boat isn’t going to lead us to him. Or her.” 

“Maybe not, but it’ll lead us to something.” 

Zuko looked down at the water. He’d always liked water. His mother thought it was cute; his father hated it. Affinity for water was common in the water tribes, but rare in the Fire Nation. Children with the trait were often shamed because water conflicted with firebending. And yet, Zuko was a good firebender. Not as good as his sister, unfortunately, but his skills were respectable. 

He’d asked his mother about it once. He had just been punished for jumping into a lake while fully clothed. “Why do I like water so much?” he’d asked. “What’s wrong with me?” 

His mother had wrapped her arms around him. “Nothing’s wrong with you, Zuko.” she said. “It’s just who you are.” she ruffled his hair. “Reminds me of your mother.” 

Zuko looked at her in confusion. “You?” he said. “But you never get wet.” 

His mother sighed. “I guess it’s time to tell you.” She looked around before speaking. “I wasn’t always your mother. You were born to another woman. Talking about her is forbidden, so I can’t say much, but she was a waterbender.” 

Zuko was confused. “But I’m a firebender.” he said. 

“Yes, that’s on your father.” said his mother. “He didn’t know she was a waterbender at the time, but I did. I wondered how it would turn out.” 

“How?” asked Zuko. 

“You tell me.” she said. “You’re here, and I’m here, and she’s not here. And my son is a water-loving firebender.” 

Those days were over. Zuko’s mother had disappeared years ago. Still, Zuko wondered about that conversation. Why had his mother told him that he was actually the son of a waterbender? She refused to talk about it after that day, saying it was prohibited. And if he wasn’t his mother’s son, then why did she treat him like one? 

_ There’s something she never told me _ , thought Zuko.  _ There’s something important that nobody told me _ . 

As far as Zuko could figure, his birth mother had been one of his father’s girlfriends. Lots of women wanted to be the Fire Lord’s wife, but there could only be one. Zuko’s sister was only two years younger than he was; where did she fit into this? She did look quite a bit like their mother, although the two women were complete opposites personality-wise. Inheritance was a strange thing. 

The little boat kept going. Zuko questioned the rowers’ destination. His uncle questioned whether they even  _ had _ a destination. They seemed to be going north- although since their starting point was the south pole, that didn’t mean much. 

“Uncle,” said Zuko, “is now a good time to practice firebending?” 

##  Aang- 95 years earlier

Aang was nervous as he stood in front of the door with his friend Kuzon. If anyone found out who he was, he’d be dead Airbender meat. Kuzon touched his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Aang.” he said. “Just keep your cover and you’ll be fine.” 

Aang knocked on the door. A servant answered the knock. “Who are you?” he asked. 

“My name is Lee.” he said. “I’m here to learn firebending from Master Niko.” 

“Do you have proof?” asked the servant. 

Aang produced a fake letter that Kuzon had made earlier. The servant examined it. 

“Ah.” he said. “Come in. Let’s see if Master Niko accepts you.” 

Aang and Kuzon entered the master’s school. Since Aang had grown brown hair and was wearing a headband, neither master nor servant had any way of knowing his true identity. Kuzon had lent him clothes and said he looked like a Fire Nation kid in them. As they stood in the carpeted hallway, Aang hoped Kuzon wasn’t exaggerating. 

Master Niko walked in and stood in front of the two boys. “Which one of you is Lee?” he asked. 

Aang raised his hand shyly. “Me, sir.” he piped. 

Master Niko examined him closely. “Who are your parents?” he asked. 

“I don’t have parents, sir.” said Aang. “I’m an orphan.” 

“What makes you think I would train an orphan?” 

Aang panicked. “Orphans can be firebenders, too.” He smiled nervously. 

“Come.” commanded the master. 

Aang and Kuzon followed him, but the master stopped. 

“Not you.” he said, pointing to Kuzon. Kuzon stepped back. 

The master led Aang into a stone room with many torches. Since there were no chairs, Aang stood near the wall. 

“Show me what you can do.” said the master. 

Aang made a few failed attempts to firebend. The master sighed. 

“The key to firebending is concentration.” said the master. He produced a flame in his hand and held it in front of Aang. “Watch the flame.” 

Aang watched the flame for what seemed like forever. Eventually, the master said, “Good work. Now spread your feet and squat.” 

Once Aang was squatting, the master said his breathing was too wobbly. When Aang had fixed that, Master Niko took him outside. He had to squat on a rock and “feel the power of the sun”. 

After two days of this, Aang got upset. When Master Niko asked him to do it on the third day, he argued. “This is useless!” he shouted. “I already know how to squat and breathe and focus on the sun. I need to know how to bend fire.” 

“You want fire?” said Master Niko. “Then you will get fire. Hold out your hands.” 

Aang showed his hands to the master. The master took a small piece of the nearby fire and placed it in Aang’s hand. 

“Keep it alive.” he instructed. “And be careful not to burn yourself.” 

Aang was scared. Here he was, holding fire with his bare hands. One tiny slip and he’d be badly burned. 

“Can firebenders be hurt by their own fire?” asked Aang. 

The master rolled up his sleeves, revealing old scars. “Yes.” he said. 

This made Aang even more scared. If someone like Master Niko could burn himself, then Aang was in trouble. Still, he didn’t want to look weak, so he kept holding the flame. 

“It’s going to die out.” said the master. “Feed it.” 

“But it’s dangerous.” said Aang. 

“Feed it anyway.” said Master Niko. “If you can’t keep a flame burning, you cannot firebend effectively.” 

Aang had no choice. He allowed a tiny bit of his chi to rise and leak into his arms. He was much more careful with his chi than he was normally. When he worked with air or water, his chi could pretty much do whatever it wanted. Not now. Now he kept it on a tight leash. 

Finally, the flame died out. Master Niko looked at the clock. “Thirty minutes.” he said. “That’s a start.” 

Aang looked at his hands. No burns. Good. 

Just keeping a flame going for half an hour was not good enough for Master Niko. He wanted Aang to keep the flame going for longer. And that meant the flame would have to be bigger. 

“Why are you so hesitant?” asked the master. “Just yesterday, you saw me hold a flame twice that size.” 

“I’m scared.” said Aang weakly. 

“Good firebenders do not fear fire. They respect its power.” said Master Niko. “There’s a difference.” 

##  Katara

“Sokka,” said Katara, “I think someone’s following us.” 

“Relax.” said Sokka. “We’re two teenagers in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. Why would anyone be following us?” 

“I’m not so sure.” 

Katara looked back in the direction they’d just come from. She saw a strangely familiar metal ship. 

“Sokka,” she cried, “It’s the ship we saw earlier!” 

“The one with the prince in it?” he asked. 

“I think so.” 

“What are we gonna do? Tell him we don’t have the Avatar?” 

“That didn’t work. We’ll have to try something else.” 

Katara and Sokka looked around. Katara saw a glacier nearby. 

“Go behind that iceberg.” she said. Then she grabbed her oar and started rowing. 

Behind the iceberg, the two siblings took a rest. Then Sokka turned around. 

“I think they saw us go here.” he said. 

“We’ll have to keep going.” said Katara. 

“Katara, we’re in a rowboat. I don’t think-” 

“Keep rowing!” she barked. 

The siblings kept rowing. Katara was worried; why was the prince following them? He couldn’t possibly know she was a waterbender- could he? 

Eventually, the other ship caught up to them. Katara turned around and saw a few crew members on the deck. 

“They’re watching us.” she said. 

“Wait for the prince.” said her brother. 

The two kids kept rowing, keeping an eye on the ship. Eventually, a boy about Sokka’s age with dark hair and a scar around his eye stepped out. 

“That’s him.” said Sokka. 

Katara stood up in the boat. “Hey!” she yelled. 

The prince and the crew turned around. 

“What do you want?” she shouted. 

“I want the Avatar.” said the prince. 

“That’s all you’ve wanted for the past three years.” said the older man. “That and your honor.” 

“Quiet, Uncle.” ordered the prince. 

“Then why are you following us?” asked Katara angrily. “You know we don’t have him.” 

“No, but you have something.” 

Sokka leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Tell him where we’re going.” he said. “But maybe leave out the waterbending part.” 

“No kidding.” whispered Katara. Then she turned and shouted at the prince. “We’re going to the Northern Water Tribe. Or at least, we’re trying to. And no, they don’t have the Avatar either.” 

One of the crewmen asked the prince something. The prince responded and the crewman left. 

“Hopefully that’s the last we’ll see of them for a while.” said Sokka. 

Katara and Sokka kept rowing until they reached a small port town. There, they went to the store and stocked up on supplies. In the town, Katara found an interesting-looking scroll for sale. 

“What is this?” she asked. 

“It’s a waterbending scroll.” said the shopkeeper. 

“How much does it cost?” 

Katara bought the waterbending scroll and went to the boat with it. Sokka wasn’t happy that she’d spent their money on it. 

“What could possibly be important enough to spend so much money on?” he asked. “We could’ve bought a whole day’s worth of food with the money you spent on that thing!” 

“It’s a waterbending scroll.” she explained. “I’m going to practice waterbending on the way to the North Pole.” 


	3. Dodging Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko nearly gets beat up by the Kyoshi Warriors. Aang defends the Southern Water Tribe and his family against the Fire Nation. Katara and Sokka sneak onto a Fire Nation ship that’s been converted into a prison for captured earthbenders.

##  Zuko

“We should stop following them.” said Zuko’s uncle. “They said they’re going to the Northern Water Tribe.” 

“Well, where else are we supposed to go?” asked Zuko impatiently. 

“Yaogun’s successor is most likely living in the Fire Nation.” said his uncle. 

“Well, we can’t go to the Fire Nation.” said Zuko. “Besides, the officials started searching ten years ago. If one of those kids was the Avatar, they would’ve found him. Or her.” 

A day or two later, they found an island. Zuko ordered the ship to stop. His uncle questioned the decision, but Zuko confirmed his original decision. 

“The Avatar could be anywhere or anyone.” he said. 

His uncle shrugged and let him dock on the island. He saw a town and took a small group of soldiers to it. 

Unfortunately, they were on Kyoshi Island, home to a group of highly skilled female warriors. They attacked him before he could ask about the Avatar. He fought back with fire and his trusty dao swords. When they struck, he struck back. But they dodged his fire and leaped over his flames. It wasn’t long before three warriors had cornered him. 

Zuko put his hands up. “Okay, I’ll stop!” he shouted. “I just need to know if you have any information regarding the Avatar.” 

“You’re in the wrong place.” said one warrior. “The current Avatar is a firebender.” 

_ Not helpful _ , Zuko thought. He tried to get up. 

“I say we take him out.” said one of the warriors. 

“I agree.” said another one. 

The warriors got closer to him, holding their sharp fans out. Zuko panicked and tried to block them with firebending, but fire didn’t offer much defense. Then, suddenly, a wall of whirling hot air appeared around him. Zuko ducked under the warriors and ran for his boat. He’d have to check for burns later. 

_ What was that _ , he wondered. It looked like airbending, but Kyoshi Island was in the Earth Kingdom. Maybe it was a trick to confuse him. If that was the case, it almost worked. 

Zuko’s pet eagle hawk, Chezu, swopped down and landed on his arm. Since his talons were clipped, he could do this without hurting Zuko. Zuko stroked his feathers. 

“Hey buddy.” he said. “I can’t find the Avatar. You got any ideas?” 

Chezu turned his head toward the afternoon sun. It was stupid to think he understood a word Zuko said, but still… 

“West?” asked Zuko. “But that’s the Fire Nation. I can’t go there; I’m exiled.” 

Then Zuko remembered something.  _ Yaogun’s successor is most likely in the Fire NationI _ , his uncle had said. Then there was the Kyoshi Warrior’s statement:  _ You’re in the wrong place. The current Avatar is a firebender. _ It was risky, but going to the Fire Islands seemed to be his best- and possibly only- chance. 

“Helmsman,” he said, “set the course for Crescent Island. I have an idea where the Avatar is.”    
  


##  Aang- 83 years earlier

“Daddy!” squealed Kira. “Look what I can do!” 

Kira picked up a snowball and used waterbending to turn it into a small snow rope, which she then held in her little hands. 

“Great job, Kira!” said Aang. “Watch this.” 

He scooped up a hunk of snow and bent it into a scarf. Then he placed the scarf on his daughter. 

“Cool!” she exclaimed. 

Ten-year-old Senna crossed her arms and frowned. “I wish I was a bender.” she complained. 

“It’s fine to not be a bender.” said Aang. “Many nonbenders have very useful skills. Like gathering seaweed, for example.” 

“Oh yeah.” said Senna. “I can do that.” 

Suddenly, one of the soldiers came running up to them. “Avatar Aang,” he said, “we’re under attack. We need you to help defend the city.” 

“Sorry, girls.” said Aang. “Go find your mother. I’m needed at the wall.” 

The girls were unhappy with this, but knew how serious it was. They went looking for myka while Aang and the soldier left. 

“I hope the Air Nomads are okay.” said Aang. “I haven’t seen them in months.” 

After the destruction of the Air Temples, Aang had rescued a handful of surviving Air Nomads. They lived in the Eastern Air Temple, far away from the Fire Nation. Aang was going to live with them, but they said that wasn’t necessary. So he lived with Myka and their children and went to the Air Temple several times a year. It was strange living in two places, but he’d gotten used to it. 

The Fire Nation ships were quickly approaching the wall. Aware of the need to blend in, Aang used waterbending to create a waterspout. He masterfully dodged the fiery projectiles while blocking the ships as much as possible. 

“Classic airbender.” commented one soldier. “Always dodging and guarding.” 

“That’s why I’m here, right?” said Aang. 

The soldier didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. 

Aang saw a shadow pass over them. It was Appa. “Appa, no!” he screamed. 

Appa had other plans. He created a huge wind with his tail, fanning the fireballs away from the city. Like Aang, he dodged the repeated attacks. But then things got worse. 

One ship broke through the watery defenses. On it was a soldier scanning the crowd. It was Master Niko, who had taught Aang firebending all those years ago. The master pointed to Aang and shouted. Aang didn’t know what he was saying, but he knew he was screwed. 

Three Fire Nation soldiers ran off the ship and toward Aang. Aang tried to evade them, but it only worked for so long. Eventually, they captured him, handcuffed him, and tied him up. As he was being led onto the ship, he saw Appa flying towards him. “Appa!” he hollered. “Appa!” 

The soldiers dragged Aang onto the ship and tossed him on the floor. He fought, but he couldn’t win. His arms and legs were tied up with fireproof ropes, and his attempts to bend air and water were futile. Appa landed on the deck, causing it to tremble. 

“You traitor!” he spat at Master Niko. 

“I’m not a traitor.” he said. “You are. Though I’m beginning to think you were never Fire Nation in the first place.” 

“What are we going to do about the bison?” asked one soldier. 

“Forget the bison.” said another. “This guy’s the Avatar. Kill him.” 

At that moment, Appa attacked. He furiously bit and shoved the soldiers. They went down, but more soldiers were called to the scene. It took twenty soldiers and quite a bit of fire to subdue Appa. By the end, he was as helpless as Aang himself. 

“Now we kill him.” said the soldier. 

“Goodbye, Appa.” said Aang tearfully. “Goodbye, Myka. Goodbye, Senna. Goodbye, Kira. Goodbye, Tenzin.” 

At that moment, he saw things- no,  _ people _ . He saw Monk Gyatso in the temple where he grew up. He saw his childhood friends in the Air Temple. He saw Bumi the earthbender and Kuzon the firebender. He saw his wife and children. And he saw Appa, his lifelong companion. 

Then he felt a burning hot knife dig into his chest. 

##  Katara

“One, two three.” said Katara, moving with every number. The water moved with her, going up, right, and left. She had done that move successfully. Now she would take it a step further. She made a watery whip and moved it around her. She almost did a full circle before it broke. 

“Hey, Katara,” said Sokka, “Look at this.” 

Katara looked up. Sokka was referring to a large metal ship. “Fire Nation.” she said. “We should be careful.” 

Then she saw something else. Soldiers were boarding the ship with several people in rags and chains. 

“They’re prisoners!” she said. “We have to help them.” 

“No.” said Sokka. “We are not helping random prisoners. We have a destination to get to.” 

“Sokka,” said Katara, “They have families out there waiting. Wondering when they’ll come back. If they’ll come back.” 

“Fine.” said Sokka. “We’ll help the prisoners. But be quick about it.” 

Katara put on the plain Earth Kingdom clothes they’d bought earlier. “Come on.” she said. “Dock the boat somewhere where they won’t find it.” 

Katara threw her Water Tribe clothes in the boat and helped Sokka dock it. Then they slipped onto the ship before the soldiers closed the entryway. The soldiers made them stand in a line while they were counted. 

“I thought you said there were nine earthbenders.” said one soldier. 

“I thought there were. How many are there?” asked another. 

“Eleven.” 

The second soldier shrugged. “I guess I missed two.” he said. 

The first soldier turned to the prisoners and explained the situation. “As you can see, this ship is made of metal.” he said. “So your earthbending is useless.” 

Katara didn’t care about that. What mattered to her was the fact that the ship was surrounded by water. 

When the soldiers left, she turned to a teenage boy standing next to her. “Hi.” she said. “What’s your name?” 

“Haru.” said the boy. “You?” 

“Katara.” she said. “Nice to meet you.” 

During the next few days, Katara acted like an obedient prisoner. She did what the soldiers told her to do and didn’t pick any fights. However, she was secretly planning an escape. 

One day, she sat in a small room with Sokka and Haru. “Hey guys,” she said, “I have a plan.” 

“For what?” asked Haru. 

“Escaping.” 

He didn’t seem to believe her, but Katara went on. “Haru, the ship is surrounded by water, right?” 

“Yeah.” he said cautiously. “But many of us can’t swim.” 

“I can.” said Katara. “And I have a secret.” She reached toward a nearby cup and lifted the water upwards. 

“You’re a waterbender.” he said. 

“Yup.” said Katara. “I’m not very good, but I can catch you on the way down.” 

“Do you expect this to work?” asked Sokka. 

Katara looked straight at him. “Yes.” she said. 

That night, Katara, Haru, and Sokka went around, telling the prisoners to meet up on the deck. Most of them were confused, but compliant. When it seemed that all the prisoners were on deck, Katara explained the plan. The prisoners responded with “That’s ridiculous!”, “We’re gonna drown!”, and “No way I’m doing that!” 

Haru turned to face the crowd. “Maybe you don’t trust her, but I do.” he said. He walked to the edge of the ship. “Come on, Katara.” 

Katara walked to the edge of the ship and looked down at the dark water. The moonlight shone down on it; she could feel its power. She pulled the water towards her and jumped. 

She heard the wind rush around her. The water got closer and closer, and then she hit it with a splash. Cold and wet, Katara started swimming to the shore. Sokka jumped in after her. The two swam to the boat, then climbed in. 

“We did not think this through.” said Sokka. 

“No we didn’t.” said Katara. “But it’s our only chance.” 

The two siblings rowed and shivered. Katara tried to dry their clothes via waterbending with limited success. They got back to the ship and continued with the plan anyway. Katara made a fountain to tell Haru that they were ready. 

Haru was the first to jump. He landed in the ocean and was caught by Katara. Haru’s father and several others went next. Soon, there were more people than they could fit in the boat. Sokka had to drop the earthbenders off before going back to catch more. 

By dawn, most of the prisoners were on the shore. Katara was so tired that she fell asleep in the boat. When she woke up, it was almost noon. 

“We got you out and put you by the fire.” said Haru. “I feel sorry for you and your brother. It was freezing out there.” 

“No wonder.” said Katara. “It’s… it’s… oh my gosh.” Katara realized what day it was. 

“What?” asked Haru. 

“It’s almost the winter solstice.” 


	4. The Avatar’s Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a risky visit to Crescent Island, Zuko and his crew go to the Northern Water Tribe. Dara, an imprisoned young Avatar, makes an escape plan. Katara looks for a waterbending teacher, but the Northern Water Tribe’s customs get in the way.

##  Zuko

Zuko had looked everywhere. After putting on a disguise, he’d managed to get access to the island’s official records. No mention of the Avatar. Of course not. If the Fire Nation had any idea where the Avatar was, Zuko wouldn’t be looking for him. So he searched the town. He hid in the bushes and streets, listening for any mention of anything connected to the Avatar. Still nothing. Nobody even acknowledged the possible presence of an Avatar in the Fire Nation. 

There was still one shred of hope. The winter solstice was in two days. On that day, the physical world and the spirit world would draw close, and the wall between them would weaken. If he was lucky, Zuko could ask the Avatar spirits where the Avatar was. 

To achieve this, Zuko went to Roku’s temple. His uncle went with him. 

“Why are you coming with me?” asked Zuko. “I thought you didn’t like the plan.” 

“Sometimes it is in our darkest hour that we finally shed light on the truth.” said Iroh. As usual, he was speaking in almost indecipherable metaphor. 

Zuko asked the temple sage to open the inner door. The sage was hesitant, but eventually let them in. However, the door could only be opened with five fire blasts. Zuko and his uncle would have to reveal their firebending status to get in. 

“Let’s do it.” said Zuko. 

The three men blasted the door and it opened. Zuko went in while his uncle and the sage stayed outside. The room was huge and mostly empty, with a circular pattern on the floor. A very large golden statue of Avatar Roku was opposite the door. According to the sage, the light from outside would shine through a ruby and hit the statue. Only then would Zuko be able to communicate with his spirit. 

The light from the ruby hit the statue. The statue seemed to come to life. Avatar Roku looked at Zuko with his carved eyes. Then Zuko heard his voice. 

“Prince Zuko.” said the statue. “I’m glad you’re here.” 

“Nice to meet you, too.” said Zuko. “I need to find the Avatar.” 

“You need to defeat your father before summer’s end.” Roku corrected. “If you don’t, he will be unstoppable. The whole world will belong to him.” 

Zuko didn’t like that idea. Although, once his father died, it would be nice to rule the world. But Zuko had more important matters. 

“Where is the Avatar?” he asked. 

Roku smiled. “Why, the Avatar is right here.” he said. 

Zuko slapped his hand on his forehead. 

“Do you understand your mission?” asked Roku sternly. 

Zuko bowed his head. “Yes.” 

“Good.” said Roku. “Now finish it. The fate of the world depends on you.” 

Zuko stepped out of the sanctuary, puzzling over the meaning of Roku’s words. This was soon ignored, however, as there were more pressing matters. Commander Zhao had arrived at the temple and was fighting Zuko’s uncle. 

Zuko leaped in. “Stop!” he shouted. Zhao responded by shooting fire at him. Zuko dodged the fire and shot back. After some back-and-forth fighting, Zuko burned Zhao and fled. 

On his ship, Zuko told the crew to take them away from the island. While the crew escaped, Chezu found Zuko and flew to him. Zuko held the large bird in his arms and tried to calm down. 

“I wish you could smell the Avatar or something.” he said. “As it is, you’re as clueless as everyone else.” 

“Where are we going, Prince Zuko?” asked the helmsman. 

Zuko realized he had no plan whatsoever. Searching the Fire Islands  _ was _ his plan, but it was too risky. He let go of Chezu, who went to the side of the ship. The bird couldn’t find the Avatar, but he sure could find a fish or rabbit. Then he answered the helmsman’s question by pointing somewhere to his right. 

“Go that way.” he said. 

The helmsman shrugged and steered the ship in the direction Zuko had pointed. Then Zuko returned to his cabin. 

A week of traveling in this direction landed them in the North Pole. This was where the fierce Northern Water Tribe lived in an equally fierce polar climate. The crew tried steering the ship through the gates, but the gates weren’t opened. So Zuko had to come up with a new plan. 

He went to his cabin and put on his Blue Spirit mask. Wearing the mask reminded him of childhood games at Ember Island. But this was no game. This was serious. 

Wearing the mask and a sealskin coat, he got off the ship and hiked up a glacier, followed by his uncle. It was cold and exhausting, but Zuko was determined. If he couldn’t find the Avatar, then he had no honor. The problem was that he had absolutely no reason to believe the Avatar was here. 

When they got to the edge, Zuko used his firebending to create an icy slide. His uncle decided not to slide down, instead waiting at the top of the glacier. Sliding down the glacier was actually fun. Terrifying, but fun. 

At the bottom, Zuko looked around. He saw many waterbenders, but no evidence of someone bending another element. It was strange to be alone in a place so unlike his home. And yet, he didn’t hate it. Okay, he hated the cold. But he kind of liked everything else. 

At one point, a child found him and pointed. “Mommy,” said the child, “it’s a man with a blue face!” 

The mother looked at Zuko. “It’s just a mask, honey.” she said. Then she addressed Zuko. “Take that off.” 

Zuko did, hoping that his coat and hood would prevent him from being recognized. “Hello.” he said. 

“See?” said the mother. “He’s just an actor.” 

Later, Zuko went into a restaurant for dinner. He tried to buy food, only to realize that he didn’t have any Water Tribe money. 

“Never mind.” he said. “I don’t have enough money.” 

Then an elderly man entered the restaurant. Though he had never seen the man before, Zuko recognized him immediately. “Pakku.” he said. 

The man looked at him. “Do I know you?” he asked. 

“No.” said Zuko. “We’ve never met. But I feel like I know you.” 

“You may very well know me.” said Pakku. “I am a well-known waterbending master, after all.” 

Zuko looked at Pakku. Why was this man so familiar? He looked no different than any other old waterbender, but there was something different about him. 

“Are you known all over the world?” asked Zuko. 

The old man chuckled. “No.” he said. “Just in this tribe.” 

He studied Zuko. “You’re not from around here, are you?” he asked. 

“No I’m not.” said Zuko. “I ended up here by accident.”

“And?” asked Pakku. 

Zuko sighed. “Fine. I was attacked at Crescent Island. I was looking for the Avatar.” 

Pakku rolled his eyes. “Bounty hunters.” he said. 

Zuko grabbed his shirt and glared at him. “I am the damn Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.” he said. “Don’t you dare call me a bounty hunter.” 

Then Zuko realized his mistake. Holding one hand over Pakku’s mouth, he led him out of the restaurant and into a back alley. Then he lit a flame. “Don’t yell.” he ordered. 

“I wasn’t planning on it.” he said. “Wait… you’re a firebender.” 

“Yes I’m a firebender.” said Zuko harshly. “A good one, too.” 

“And you’re young…” said the old man. 

“Sixteen.” said Zuko. “Why?” 

“Zuko.” said Pakku. “Lin Song.” 

Zuko was confused. Why had this man said that name? It sounded vaguely familiar.  _ Do I know her? _ , Zuko thought. 

The old man sensed Zuko’s confusion. “Lin Song is Avatar Yaogun’s widow.” he said. “He and I were good friends. We met when he came here to learn waterbending. If you know her name, and you know me, and you’re a young firebender…” 

“Get to the point.” ordered Zuko. 

“Zuko,” said the old man, “ _ you _ are the Avatar.”   
  


##  Dara- 66 years earlier

“You are the Avatar.” Dara said quietly to herself. 

Two weeks ago, she’d been captured in a Fire Nation raid. Now she and the other waterbenders were trapped in bone-dry cages. None of them had any water to bend. It was dangerous for a bender as young and powerful as Dara to not bend for this long. She could feel an immense amount of energy built up inside her. She wanted nothing more than to let it out. 

Shift change. That was the perfect time. Both groups of guards were in the hall. Even better, it was the evening shift change, so she had the advantage of darkness. While they were talking, she planted her feet and bent the concrete outside her cell. It felt so good to bend again. 

It wasn’t easy, but she got a chunk of concrete into her cell. The guards were busy; if she was quick and quiet, she could escape. The only thing she could think of was using the concrete to make a key.  _ Well then, _ she thought,  _ I guess that’s exactly what I’ll do.  _

When the concrete was in her hands, she bent it into a key. The key didn’t fit in the lock, so she tried again. She resorted to sticking the key in the lock and earthbending it until it fit. Her waterbending nature proved useful in this endeavour. 

The key turned and Dara shoved the door open. She was free… almost. To get out of her cage, she’d have to leap over the gap. If she didn’t jump far enough… well, Dara tried not to think about that. 

Dara took a running leap and, by some miracle, landed on the concrete. She tried to soften it with earthbending, but her legs still hurt when she landed. “Ouch.” she said. She was in pain, but she was out of her cage. 

A nearby prisoner saw her. “Help me.” she said. 

“Catch.” said Dara, throwing the key at the prisoner. This prisoner unlocked herself and threw the key to the next person. Five more people were freed this way before someone dropped the key. It fell into the pit under the cages, never to be seen again. The other prisoners cursed at the one who dropped it. 

“Now you have to jump.” said Dara. “Quickly; they’re coming in soon.” 

All six prisoners jumped. A few nearly fell, but Dara caught them with earthbending. Some were struggling to walk; legs must’ve been broken on the concrete. Dara led them to the darkest corner of the room, where they would be hidden by shadows. They waited there as the guards came in. When the guards weren’t looking, Dara signaled to the other prisoners and they went through the door quickly and quietly. 

In the hall, Dara heard a guard yelling in the room she’d just left. “They know we escaped.” she whispered. We have to hurry.” 

Hurrying proved difficult. Some people were forced to crawl, as they could not walk without pain. All of them were weakened from their imprisonment. Dara had to be cautious as she led them through the darkened halls. Eventually, she felt stone under her feet instead of concrete. Perfect. 

“I’m going to dig us out.” she said. “Watch out.” 

Dara bent down and lifted the stone out of the way. She pushed a huge rock aside and continued to earthbend. She went into the hole and earthbent in complete darkness. She knew she was creating ridges and vibrations, but she hoped nobody found them. She listened to the space above for footsteps. When the stone above her gave way to soil, she went up. She was free! 

Dara crawled out of the hole and looked at the night sky. She was somewhere in the Fire Islands, but she had no idea which island it was. She would worry about where she was later. What mattered now was the fact that she was no longer in the prison. 

When the other six were out, Dara crawled back into the hole and moved the stone.  _ Hopefully the guards won’t notice it was moved, _ she thought. She didn’t like tunneling, but freedom was worth it. 

Outside the prison, Dara counted heads. Everyone who’d jumped from their cell was out here. Many of them were people she knew. Waterbenders from her tribe who’d been captured. One of them was Kira- Avatar Aang’s daughter. Rescuing her predecessor’s daughter gave Dara a feeling of accomplishment. 

“So what’s the plan?” asked a young man. 

“There isn’t one.” said Dara. “I was focused on getting us out.” 

“Get some food and water?” suggested Kira. 

“That’s a start.” said Dara. “Let’s do it.” 

The group was lucky enough to find a cave to live in. In the cave, they counted at least six broken bones and numerous cuts and scrapes. Luckily, one of the freed waterbenders was a healer. While she healed the injured, Dara and two others looked for food. Actually, most of them looked for water to bend, which was understandable. Besides, they needed water at least as much as they needed food. 

Dara found an ash banana grove. It was an edible fruit grown on a handful of the Fire Islands. She picked a few, eating one right away. It would make a decent breakfast. 

In the ash banana grove, Dara made a plan. First, she and the other waterbenders were going to get food and supplies. Then they would get a boat so they could go somewhere safe. Dara would give the others the boat and a map, but she wouldn’t be going with them. 

She was going to kill the Fire Lord.    
  


##  Katara

It had taken weeks, but Katara and her brother had crossed the world. They were at the North Pole, home of the Northern Water Tribe. The city was heavily guarded, but Katara hoped they’d be let in. 

She was right. A small display of waterbending was enough to get them inside. Well, that and a lot of waterbending to open the gates. Katara and Sokka rowed their little boat through the gates and looked at the city in awe. 

It was huge. All around, they saw watery roads and houses made of ice. The houses were connected by walkways and bridged. Wherever they looked, people worked and children played. Katara and Sokka fit right into the whole scene. 

They stopped at a walkway. “Excuse me,” said Sokka, “Can you tell us where we’d find a waterbending master?” 

“Well,” said a man, “Master Pakku trains young waterbenders right over there.” he pointed. “Go ask him.” 

“Thank you!” 

The two siblings rowed in the direction the man had pointed. Once they found the right building, they parked their boat outside of it. Then they walked up to the building and knocked on the door. 

An elderly man answered. “Hello.” he said. He looked at Sokka. “Are you a new student?” 

“Actually, I’m not a waterbender.” said Sokka. “My sister is.” 

“Then she’s in the wrong place.” said the man. “I don’t train girls.” 

“Really!” Katara stomped her foot. “I didn’t travel across the world to be turned down by a grumpy old man!” 

The man scowled. “Don’t you dare call me that.” he said. “Go to Yugoda. She'll teach you.” 

Katara found Yugoda and accidentally walked into a class. Yugoda was teaching a group of young girls. Katara was embarrassed. 

“Sorry.” she said. “I’ll just… wait outside the door.” 

“No, it’s fine.” said Yugoda. “What’s your name?” 

“Katara.” she said. 

“Well, Katara,” said the woman, “My name’s Yugoda. Nice to meet you.” 

Yugoda taught Katara and the other girls several basic healing tactics. Katara appreciated this, but it wasn’t what she’d hoped for when she set out for the North. 

“Who’s the lucky boy that you’re marrying?” asked Yugoda. 

“Oh, I’m not old enough for that.” said Katara. 

“You’re wearing a betrothal necklace.” 

“This?” Katara touched her necklace. “It was my mother’s.” 

Yugoda looked at her. “I should’ve seen it sooner.” she said. “You’re Kanna’s granddaughter.” 

“Gran-gran was from the Northern Water Tribe?” asked Katara. 

Yugoda nodded. “She left when she was not much older than you. We were childhood friends.” 

“Oh.” said Katara. “She’s still at the South Pole. I came up here to find another waterbender.” 

“Tell her I said hi.” said a smiling Yugoda. 

The next day, Katara decided to take matters into her own hands. She went to Master Pakku and stood right in front of him. 

“What are you doing here?” said the master. “I told you we don’t train women.” 

“I’m about to change your mind.” Katara held her fist up. “You are  _ not _ saying no to me this time!” 

Pakku resisted, citing tradition, but Katara was angry. She created a blast of ice and threw it at him. Pakku shot ice at her and the battle began. Being a master waterbender, Pakku won easily; he trapped her in an icy cage. Then he saw Katara’s necklace, which had flown off of her. 

“Hey,” he said, “That’s my necklace.” 

“No, it’s  _ my _ necklace.” said Katara. 

“But I carved it.” he said. 

“I got it from my mother.” said Katara. “Now it’s all I have left of her. Please give it back.” 

“Your mother… are you Kanna’s granddaughter?” he asked. 

“Yes.” said Katara. 

“I made this for her.” said the master. “Before she left for the south.” 

Katara looked at this rude old man and saw him in a way she hadn’t considered before. 

“Can you get me out of here?” she asked. 

Master Pakku agreed to train Katara. Within a week, she was competing against students that had been training for months. The master was very proud of her work. 

In the meantime, Sokka had fallen for Princess Yue. Katara heard him talking about her every night at dinner. Personally, Katara liked Yue’s gentleness as well. And she was beautiful- though Katara and Sokka had different interpretations of her beauty. The only problem was that Yue was already engaged. Katara hoped the issue would be resolved without Sokka killing anyone. 

Then, one day, a dreaded thing happened. The Fire Nation attacked the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka volunteered to fight, much to Katara’s dismay. Katara herself decided to stay safe inside the city. She sat tight as the sounds of intense battle raged around her. The Fire Nation ships were approaching and breaking the wall. Then the moon rose and the waterbenders gained strength, slowing their progress. Until suddenly, the sky turned red. 

Katara ran outside in a panic. She soon found Princess Yue and asked what was going on. 

“The ocean and moon spirits!” cried Yue. “They’re in trouble!” 

“Can we save them?” asked Katara. 

“I hope so.” 

The two girls rushed to a place where Katara had never been before. It was a warm island in a glacier. On the island there was grass and a small lake. Three figures were standing around the lake. Katara recognized the first two as Prince Zuko and his uncle, but the third was just a Fire Nation army guy. Who had just captured the Moon Spirit in a bag and about to kill it. 

“Noooo!” screamed Katara and Yue as they ran toward the general in a panic. 


	5. Siege and Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko deals with the reveal of his identity as the Avatar and Zhao’s attempt at killing the moon. An earthbending Avatar named Yaogun defends Omashu from the Fire Nation army. Katara and Sokka land in a mysterious swamp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven’t actually finished Yaogun’s section yet... I hit a roadblock and was like “forget it, I’ll just write about Katara”. I’ll go back and finish it at some point. There are also a few blanks for names I couldn’t remember or make up, but whatever.

##  Zuko

For Zuko, Zhao trying to kill the Moon Spirit was just one more in a string of bad events. 

First, Zhao attacked him in Roku’s temple. While escaping that, Zuko and his uncle wound up in the Northern Water Tribe. There, somebody told Zuko that he was the Avatar that he’d spent three years searching for. This led to complete shock, followed by an identity crisis. Zuko had essentially questioned his entire life, from his anger to the toys he played with as a child. Everything he’d done in his life up to this point- was it really him? Was this who he was- who he had been all along? 

It didn’t help that he’d gotten food poisoning from bad fish that evening. Zuko couldn’t tell which was worse: the current situation or having an identity crisis while puking. 

His uncle, those kids from the Southern Water Tribe- what were their names again?-, and a tan, white-haired girl were all trying to stop the admiral. Zuko didn’t really want the Moon Spirit to die, but he didn’t want to fight Zhao again either. Then again, if he was stupid enough to kill the moon… 

Zhao made a fire and, in one swoop, turned the Moon Spirit into a roasted koi. The sky went from red to black. Zuko wasn’t a waterbender, but that girl seemed to be unable to waterbend. He was pretty sure she’d done it before. So if she couldn’t waterbend, that meant nobody else could waterbend… ever. 

“You have permanently destroyed the balance of nature!” shouted Iroh. 

“The entire world has been stripped of waterbending!” shouted the dark-haired girl. 

“No child will ever look at the moon and see a firebending elephant rat!” shouted Zuko. Zhao looked at him in disbelief and Zuko realized how dumb that sounded. 

Zhao tossed the dead fish into the water. The white-haired girl ran over to it, stumbling the whole way. The boy ran to catch her and held her arm as she walked. Meanwhile, Iroh attacked Zhao, who drowned in the pool around the island. Zuko heard the sound of a giant wave crashing outside; apparently the ocean spirit was angry about the loss of its companion. 

The dark-haired girl looked at Zuko. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Looking for the Avatar?” 

“No.” said Zuko. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” 

“Help us save the moon spirit!” shouted the other girl. 

“The Moon Spirit is dead!” yelled Zuko. “Can’t you see that?” 

“It’s over.” said the dark-haired girl. 

“No.” said the white-haired girl. “It’s not over.” 

Zuko watched as the girl held the dead fish. The fish started returning to life, but the girl faded away. The boy kissed her before she faded completely. Then the fish started to swim and the moon reappeared in the sky. 

“Bye, Yue.” said the boy. The girl- possibly his sister- hugged him. 

Although he liked the calmness of the spirits’ island, Zuko left and tried to get some sleep. The next morning, he woke up in a room made of ice. His uncle was standing nearby, making tea on a stove. 

“Why aren’t we on the ship?” asked Zuko. 

“Our ship was captured by Zhao’s men.” said his uncle. “They took the crew as well. We’re on our own now.” Heheld out a cup. “Want some tea?” 

“Sure.” said Zuko. He drank the tea. It really wasn’t that bad. 

“So, what are we gonna do now?” asked Zuko. 

“If you really are the Avatar, then you must follow the path of one.” said his uncle. 

Zuko tried to figure out what that meant. He eventually concluded that his uncle was telling him to master the four elements. He’d already mastered fire. That meant he had to master earth, air, and water. But not in that order. The Avatar Cycle dictated that he learn airbending first. 

“Okay.” he said. “Where do we find an airbending master?” 

##  Yaogun- 30 years earlier

“Avatar Yaogun,” asked General Hau, “What do you suggest?”

Yaogun looked at the map, which had various shapes and lines drawn over it. “Send the 35th division to the western shore.” He said. “If the Fire Nation’s going to attack, that’s where they’ll do it. And if you can spare the troops, send a division to the Southern Water Tribe.” 

“Why?” General Hau asked. 

“They’re under attack, too.” said Yaogun. “Even worse than we are. We need to protect the balance of the four nations.” 

“Speaking of that,” said King Bumi, “what are we going to do about the Air Nomads taking refuge in our kingdom?” 

“Leave them there.” he answered. “They have neither me nor the military. The Fire Nation has no reason to attack them.” 

Bumi stood up. “Are there any more matters to discuss?”

Silence. 

“In that case, this meeting is over. Ta-ta!” 

The next day, Yaogun and General Hau were explaining the plan to the 35th division. 

“Go to the towns of ______, ______, and ______ and be ready for an attack.” He explained. “It will most likely be a naval attack, but we have rock launchers in case there’s an air strike.” He looked around to ensure that his message was understood. “And remember: whatever happens, do not let them reach the Avatar.” 

The soldiers nodded in understanding. Then they went off to fight the Fire Nation. 

The general turned to Yaogun. “If you are killed, what happens to the next Avatar?” he asked quietly. 

“The next Avatar will be a firebender, unfortunately.” answered Yaogun. “As far as I can tell, one of two things will happen; either the cycle is ended, or the firebender is killed and reincarnated as an Air Nomad. Then we’ll be back to where we started.” 

“You don’t think Fire Lord Azulon will use the Avatar?” asked Hau. 

Yaogun shook his head. “No Avatar would want one nation to destroy the others.” he said. “I have met a hundred Avatars in my dreams and in the Spirit World. We are all different, but none of us are evil.” 

Just then, a soldier ran to the two men. “Omashu is under attack!” he shouted. 

“Where?” shouted Hau. 

“The gate.” said the soldier. “Fire Nation soldiers- hundreds of them.” 

“Get your weapon and go to the gate.” said Hau. “I’ll round up the troops.” 

**Finish this later.**

##  Katara

Katara’s waterbending training was finished. Master Pakku had been impressed with her work. Sokka would’ve been if he wasn’t mourning Yue. Now the siblings were trying to go home. 

On the second day, there was a bad storm. Katara and Sokka survived, but lost their way. They ended up in a mysterious swamp near the Earth Kingdom. 

“What is this place?” asked Katara. 

“It’s a swamp.” said Sokka. “And not a friendly-looking one. We should leave.” 

“We can’t.” said Katara. “I have no idea how we got in.” 

“Great.” said Sokka sarcastically. 

The sibling continued rowing through the swamp. Katara looked around and saw plants, water, and… her mother? 

“Mom!” she shouted. 

Sokka turned to her. “You saw Mom?” he asked. 

Katara nodded. She jumped out of the boat and swam toward her mother. Her mother turned around to face her… and disappeared. Katara stood in the water and cried. 

“Yue!” she heard Sokka crying. “Yue!” 

Katara didn’t have the heart to tell him it was an illusion. Instead, she swam back to the boat. 

The boat ended up at a large tree. “Seems pretty normal to me.” said Sokka. 

Just then, a giant swamp monster attacked them. Katara turned and whipped the creature with water. Sokka sliced its arm off, but the arm grew back. The two of them kept attacking the monster, but it seemed invincible. 

Then Katara thought of something. She used her skills to create a huge watery blade, froze it, and sliced straight through the center of the monster. The monster split in half, revealing… an old man wearing a wooden mask. 

“Who are you?” asked Katara. 

“Who are  _ you _ ?” asked the man. 

They ended up conversing under a tree. It turned out that the man’s name was Huu. He was a member of the local waterbending tribe who’d devoted his life to protecting the swamp. He had mistaken Katara and Sokka for invaders and now apologized. He was quite happy to meet a waterbender from the poles. 

“I’m the only one around here who even knows about the Poleys.” he said. 

“‘Poleys’?” questioned Sokka. He did not get a response. 

“How do you know?” asked Katara. 

“I can see everything through the swamp.” said Huu. “You see, every tree in the swamp is connected to every other tree. The tree we’re under is the largest one, and it’s right in the center of the swamp. But it goes even further. The universe is a tree, and we are the roots. I learned that while meditating here. Over the years, I have learned to watch the world through the eyes of the trees.” 

“What about the visions?” asked Katara. “I saw my mother, who died in a raid.” 

“The swamp does that.” answered Huu. “It shows you people you think you’ve lost. But really, you haven’t lost them, because time is an illusion, and so is death. They have always been there, and they will always be there.” 

Katara was comforted by his words. She decided to ask him about something else that had been bothering her. 

“We met a prince.” she said. “A Fire Nation prince, actually. His name is Zuko, and he came to our village looking for the Avatar. I saw him later at the home of the moon and ocean spirits. His people killed our mother, but I… I don’t know what to make of him.” 

“Tui and La.” said Huu. “Glad to know they’re doing okay. I was worried when Tui died. Anyway, about the prince- what exactly are you asking?” 

“Who is the Avatar?” Katara asked. 

Huu looked at her. “Why, it’s Prince Zuko.” 

Katara laughed. “You’re kidding!” she said. This had to be a joke, right? 

Huu shook his head. “No.” he said. He put her hands on the tree. “Here. Ask the tree and find out for yourself.” 

Katara closed her eyes and ran her hands over the bark. “Nothing.” she said. 

“You’re doing it wrong.” he said. “You cannot simply feel the tree; you must become part of the tree. Attach your spirit to its branches, even if only for a moment.” 

Katara tried that. She imagined her spirit fusing with the tree. Then she felt its roots as if they were… a part of her somehow.  _ Zuko, _ she thought.  _ Zuko _ . 

Then she felt a shoe on her left wrist. She looked up and saw Prince Zuko with his uncle. They were wearing Earth Kingdom clothes, and Zuko had cut his hair. His uncle was looking at a flower. 

“Uncle, what are you doing?” asked Zuko. 

“This is the ______, known for its delicious tea.” said his uncle. “Either that or it is the _______, which is deadly poison.” 

“We don’t have time for this!” shouted Zuko. “We need to figure out where we are!” 

Katara disconnected herself from the tree, exhausted. “They’re in the Earth Kingdom somewhere.” she said. “In disguise.” 

“What do we do, wander around the Earth Kingdom until we find them?” asked Sokka. 

Katara looked at him with as much determination as she could muster. “Yes.” 


	6. Earth Kingdom Wanderings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko finds an airbender, but can’t actually airbend. A servant named Suri takes Toph on a trip far from home. While looking for Zuko, Katara and Sokka get kidnapped in the desert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I didn’t finish the Toph section either. These middle sections can be tough!

##  Zuko

“Are you sure this is the right way?” asked Zuko. 

“The villagers said it was.” said his uncle. 

“Maybe the villagers were wrong.” said Zuko. 

“Maybe they were right.” 

“Even if we do find the place,” said Zuko, “What makes you think they’ll let us in?” 

“You just have to trust that they will see your spirit for what it really is.” said his uncle. 

They kept walking. Eventually, they saw a man flying above them. 

“There!” shouted Zuko. “I saw an airbender!” 

“I told you the villagers were right.” said his uncle. 

Zuko waved his hand and followed the airbender until he landed. When that happened, the airbender- a young man with a brown beard and a shaved, tattooed head- turned to them. 

“Who are you, and why are you here?” he asked. 

“We’re refugees.” said Zuko. “We were hoping you’d give us a place to stay.” Zuko has never met this man, but he still trusted him. 

“The Air Nomads do not trust outsiders.” said the man. “Go somewhere else.” 

“Please,” said Zuko’s uncle, “Let us in. The Earth Kingdom has too many refugees. There is no space for us.” 

The airbender looked at them. “Fine.” he said. “Under one condition. I blindfold you and take you to the temple myself.” 

“Okay.” said Zuko’s uncle. “We’ll do it.” 

Zuko didn’t like flying blindfolded. He had no idea where he was and kept thinking they were about to crash or fall. “Trust me.” said the airbender. “I do this all the time.” 

He tried to distract them by talking. “What are your names?” he asked. 

Zuko’s uncle answered. “I’m Mr. Mushi, and this is my nephew-” 

“Lee.” said Zuko. “My name is Lee.” 

“Oh.” said the man. “My name’s Tenzin. Nice to meet you.” 

After what seemed like ages, Tenzin landed and took the blindfolds off. Zuko looked around and saw a beautiful temple connected to two smaller temples on mountains. Each temple was surrounded by fields and inhabited by people and flying bison. 

“Nice place.” said Zuko’s uncle. 

“Thank you.” said Tenzin. 

An older monk showed Zuko and his uncle to a hut outside the temple. “You can stay here.” he said. “Feel free to work in the fields or tend the animals, but we do not allow hunting.” 

“What about Chezu?” asked Zuko. The bird had flown behind them the whole way there. 

“He can stay,” said the monk, “but it is your responsibility to control him.” 

“I can do that.” said Zuko. Really, it would not be that hard. Chezu had been Zuko’s pet for years, and he was usually well-behaved. Zuko had removed his bird’s Fire Nation gear and dyed his feathers so that he looked like one of the native birds. Thankfully, the dye hadn’t washed off yet. 

Zuko had come to the temple to learn airbending, but doing so would blow his cover. So he learned in secret, watching the masters teach children and copying their moves. When he wasn’t doing that, he was working in the fields, meditating, or cleaning up bison hair. His uncle spent a lot of time making tea in the hut. It wasn’t a bad life, but Zuko was impatient. 

One day, Zuko was practicing airbending. Unfortunately, no matter how well he mimicked the Airbenders, no air was bent. Aftermany failed attempts, Zuko was getting frustrated. 

“I don’t think you’re an ordinary refugee.” said Tenzin. 

Zuko turned around. “What are you doing here?” he asked. 

“I’m going for a walk. What about you?” he asked. “You never said you could airbend.” 

“I can’t.” said Zuko. “That’s the problem.” 

“But that makes no sense.” said Tenzin. “After the genocide, Avatar Aang found all the surviving Air Nomads and took them here. All the Air Nomads alive live in this temple.” 

“I never said I was an Air Nomad.” answered Zuko. 

“And yet, you’re trying to airbend.” said Tenzin. “There’s something you aren’t telling me.” 

Zuko wondered what to say next. Then he remembered something his mother had told him as a child:  _ never forget who you are _ . Zuko sighed and faced Tenzin. 

“Fine.” he said. “My name’s not Lee. My name’s Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai. I’m also the Avatar.” 

Tenzin stepped back in fear. Then he scanned Zuko up and down. “Fire Nation.” he said. 

Zuko kneeled on the ground. What was he thinking when he said that? “Yes.” he said. “I know I shouldn’t be asking, but I need an airbending teacher. Will you please do it?” 

Tenzin looked at him. “You’re the Fire Lord’s son.” he said. “How do I know you aren’t working with him?” 

Zuko pointed to his left eye. “My father did this to my face.” he said. “Burned after I refused to duel him. Then he banished me. I was thirteen.” 

“How old are you?” he asked. 

“Sixteen.” 

“And you’re still banished?” 

“Yes.” 

“In that case,” said Tenzin, “Show me what you can do.” 

For the next month, Tenzin trained Zuko. This included sending Zuko through spinning vertical boards, which Zuko nearly burned out of frustration. It reminded him of the time he failed to replicate his sister’s firebending move as a child. It was humiliating. 

“Are you sure you’re the Avatar?” asked Tenzin. 

“Honestly, no.” said Zuko. He then told Tenzin what had happened at the North Pole. 

“I have an idea.” said the Air Nomad. 

He brought Zuko into the left temple. “Avatar Aang spent most of his time in the south, but he had his own room in this temple.” he explained. “If you truly are the Avatar, you’ll be able to find it.” 

“You want me to find Aang’s room?” asked Zuko. 

“One more thing.” said Tenzin. He took out a blindfold and wrapped it over Zuko’s eyes. “Now find it.” 

Zuko reached out and touched the wall. Having no idea what to do, he kept walking until he found a doorway.  _ Think, Zuko _ , he thought,  _ where would Avatar Aang’s room be? _ He turned right and kept walking until he found a door and opened it. Cold air blew in his face. He was outside. 

“Keep going.” said Tenzin. 

Zuko carefully stepped out of the door and felt around. He was on a narrow balcony. He tried to find the edge opposite the door, but there wasn’t one. He had found the bridge, and his gut was telling him to cross it. 

“Is there a railing?” he asked. 

“Of course there’s a railing.” said Tenzin. 

With one hand on the railing, Zuko crossed the bridge. He found a door on the other side and entered. Then, inexplicably, he switched sides and turned left. Then he found a stairwell and went up. He had no idea what was upstairs; he just felt like going up them. 

After quite a bit of blind searching, Zuko found a door. There was nothing about this door that made it different from the dozens of other doors, but he opened it anyway. 

“Congratulations.” said Tenzin. “You found Aang’s room. You can take the blindfold off.” 

Zuko took off the blindfold and looked around. It was a simple room with a bed, a desk, a window, and a yellow poster of Aang. Zuko had not yet been on this floor of the temple, but the room was familiar. He didn’t know why; it looked nothing like his room at home. 

“Avatar Aang picked this room for himself when he was thirteen.” said Tenzin. “Since then, it has been reserved for the Avatar. Since you are the Avatar, you can have it.” 

“Wait,” said Zuko, “how do you know that?” 

“No other firebender would be able to find this room while blindfolded.” answered Tenzin. “You relied on Aang’s memories to get to this room. You had Aang’s memories. You are a reincarnation of Aang. You are the Avatar.” 

“But… I’m nothing like Aang.” he said. He remembered overheard history lessons from the monks. Their description of Aang did not apply to Zuko. 

“I met Avatar Yaogun when I was young.” said Tenzin. “He wasn’t like Aang either. Much more direct and serious, though equally kind. But every Avatar is different.” 

Zuko thought about that. So he really was the Avatar after all. Which meant he had to learn airbending. So he and Tenzin tried again. 

“You’re thinking like a firebender.” said Tenzin. “That’s the problem. You need to think less about attacking and more about evading.” 

Evasion did not come naturally to Zuko. So Tenzin threw balls at him and made him dodge them. It was during this exercise that Zuko Airbended for the first- well, second- time. From there, he gained more control over his airbending. 

One day, the temple received bad news. The Fire Nation had taken over Omashu and several other Earth Kingdom cities. They were coming ever closer to the temple. 

“My uncle and I can’t be here when that happens.” said Zuko. “If they think I’m helping you, I’ll be sent home as a traitor.” 

“So go.” said Tenzin. “But listen; you did well in your airbending training. If you keep this up, you can be a good Avatar and a good ruler.” 

“Thank you, Master.” said Zuko. 

“Thank you.” said his uncle to the monks. “Your tea recipes were much appreciated.” 

“You’re welcome.” said one monk. 

“Now you need to learn waterbending.” said Tenzin. “This will be difficult for you, as you are a firebender by nature. But you can do it if you truly understand the nature of water. And don’t forget...” 

“What?” asked Zuko. “Tell me.” 

“A towel!” the airbender laughed. Zuko sighed at the airbender’s joke. 

Zuko, his uncle, and his hawk left the Eastern Air Temple. They spent days traveling in the woods. Zuko once again remembered just how vast the Earth Kingdom was. 

“Why are we looking for a waterbender in the Earth Kingdom?” asked Zuko. 

“The Earth Kingdom is a large and diverse nation.” said his uncle. 

“We’re not looking for diversity.” said Zuko. “We’re looking for a waterbending master.” 

“Sometimes masters can be found in unexpected places.” said his uncle. 

##  Toph- present day

Toph buried her Blind Bandit clothes in the hole and snuck back in. She didn’t like having two lives, but it was the only way. Her parents would never let her earthbend, but she was miserable without it. Actually, they barely let her leave the house. Her family was well-known, but few people knew she existed. Her brother said that he wasn’t allowed to mention her in public. People thought he was an only child. 

Toph didn’t know many children, but the ones she knew didn’t think she was helpless. She often played with her brother and the servants’ kids. They were told to be very gentle with her, but they all roughhoused when the adults weren’t looking. Sometimes they’d secretly play tag- Toph could hear and feel where the others were. She could even see their shadows with the little vision she had. And of course, she was the only one in the group that could earthbend. 

“Hey Toph,” said one of those children, “My mother wants to talk to you. She says you’re not in trouble.” 

_ Suri _ , Toph thought. This girl’s mother was one of the few adults- besides the many people at the earthbending ring- who knew what Toph was capable of. Toph had asked her to help her run away before, but she declined. 

Toph could understand that; she herself was unsure about running away. She’d done it once and ended up with the badgermoles. They taught her how to “see” with her feet. That made getting around much easier. 

Toph and the girl got up and went to Suri, who was sitting near a light. “Hello girls.” she said. “I need to tell you something very serious.” 

Toph sat down near Suri. “What is it?” she asked. 

“The Fire Nation has taken over parts of the Earth Kingdom.” she said. “I’m afraid it is no longer safe for me here. Kiyi and I must flee.” Kiyi was Suri’s daughter and one of Toph’s playmates. 

“You’re leaving me?” asked Toph. 

“No.” she said. “You see, it’s risky to travel across the Earth Kingdom. There are thieves, pirates, and Fire Nation spies. I want you to come with us.” 

Toph was delighted. “You really think I can help?” she asked. 

“Yes.” said Suri. “The thing is that you can earthbend. Kiyi and I are waterbenders, which is great, except that there might not be much water where we’re going. You can make walls and things to protect us.” 

“Thank you so much!” said Toph. 

“You’re welcome.” said Suri. “Go say goodbye to your brother. We’re leaving in the morning.” 

Toph said goodbye to her brother, but not her parents. They would never approve of something like this. Then she packed her things and waited for the morning to come. 

After breakfast, Suri told Toph and Kiyi it was time to go. Toph jumped up and quietly followed Suri out the door. They walked to a nearby town and stopped at a building full of people and… ostrich horses? 

“We’re getting ostrich horses to ride on.” explained Suri. 

They got two ostrich horses and a rope. Suri and Toph rode one ostrich horse; Kiyi and the bags rode the other. Kiyi’s animal was attached to Suri via a rope. 

“How come Kiyi gets to ride alone and I don’t?” asked Toph. 

“She’s not steering.” said Suri. “Besides, you don’t know how to ride an ostrich horse, I don’t have time to teach you, and you can’t see where you’re going. Please get on so we can leave.” 

Toph was upset, but she got on the ostrich horse. Once they left, it wasn’t long before Toph realized that Suri had a point. She couldn’t possibly steer an ostrich horse while riding one. Heck, she was disoriented doing just _one_ of those things. 

**Finish this later.**

##  Katara

“Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?” asked Sokka. 

“No,” said Katara, “but Huu said that Zuko would need to go to the Eastern Air Temple to learn airbending. And we’re going east.” 

“Huu’s directions led us straight into a desert!” Sokka complained. 

“I know.” said Katara. “And honestly, I don’t wanna see him again. But I trust Huu.” 

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” said Sokka. 

The two siblings kept walking through the desert. It was hot and they were running out of water. They had to travel at night to minimize those problems. Even so, they eventually had to drink Katara’s bending water. She didn’t tell Sokka because she knew he would be disgusted. 

One day, Katara woke to the noise of unfamiliar people grabbing her. She tried to fight, but she was too tired. The people grabbing her were wearing baggy clothes and face coverings. They had grabbed Sokka as well.  _ I knew we shouldn’t have gone looking for Zuko _ , she thought. 

The strangers tied Katara and her brother up and put them in a sandsailer. Katara heard them talking amongst themselves. 

“Not bad.” said one man. “They like young’uns; we can get a good price for ‘em.” 

Katara tried to protest, but she was gagged. 

The kidnappers sped across the sand on their sandsailer. There were actually three sandsailers, but Katara and Sokka were in the same one. If Katara had to guess, the other two contained either supplied or captives. 

After a couple days of traveling, they were out of the desert. In a small, dusty town, their kidnappers went to a dealer of some sort and asked if he was “in business”. 

“Oh, I’m in business.” said the dealer. “Whatcha got?” 

The kidnapper showed him Katara and Sokka. “We found ‘em in the desert.” he said. “Siblings, I think.” 

The dealer and the kidnapper had a short conversation on price. Katara hated the idea that this man was selling her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. 

After buying the siblings, the dealer and assistant took them through a huge swath of grassland. Katara had never seen so much grass in her life. At some point, they crossed a bay using what Katara guessed was an illegal ferry of sorts. She thought about using waterbending to escape, but then they would know she was a waterbender. 

They ended up going to Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom’s capital. As they got closer, Katara heard a grinding noise. Not far from the wall, the assistant panicked. 

“Forget the kids!” he shouted. “We gotta get out of here!” 

The men literally tossed Katara and Sokka out of the cart and rushed away. Katara looked around; she’d chewed through the gag, but was still tied up. If she found some water, she might be able to get out. 

Unfortunately, the only available water was her own urine.  _ Gross _ , she thought, but she was desperate. She managed to turn it into a powerful stream and cut the ropes on her hands. Once her hands were free, she untied her feet, then Sokka. But there was an even bigger problem. 

The grinding noise was coming from a giant machine. And it was drilling through the city wall. 


	7. Ba Sing Se

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and his uncle seek refuge in Ba Sing Se. Toph tries to stop a drill attack. Katara becomes smitten with an orphaned teen named Jet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has a couple blanks in the Katara section because I couldn’t remember a couple details from the series. Oh well...

##  Zuko

Originally, the plan was to find a waterbender. That changed when Zuko and his uncle saw wanted posters of themselves. 

“We need to go somewhere where nobody knows who we are.” said his uncle. 

For some reason, that place was Ba Sing Se. It would take some time to get there, especially considering that their mode of travel was an ostrich horse. 

As a sort of compensation for not having a waterbending teacher, Zuko’s uncle taught him a move he learned from the waterbenders. The idea was to take lightning and send it from one arm to the other- but not directly. It had to go through the stomach first. 

“The stomach is a sea of chi.” explained his uncle. “Although in my case, it is more of a vast ocean.” The man touched his bulging midsection. Zuko did not laugh. 

It turned out that chi wasn’t the most important reason for it. If the lightning wasn’t redirected, there would still be enough chi to complete the move- but it wouldn’t matter, because you’d be dead. Zuko’s uncle made it very clear that if the lightning got too close to Zuko’s heart, it would stop beating. 

Zuko wanted to try the move, but his uncle refused. So Zuko spent hours standing in a thunderstorm, waiting for a nearby lightning strike. It didn’t happen, and Zuko’s attempts to create lightning failed. Which was unfair, since his father, sister, and uncle could do it- and his sister was only fourteen. But Zuko was too volatile. Zuko remembered his uncle’s words:  _ if you have inner turmoil inside you, you cannot create lightning _ . He then pointed out Zuko’s complicated feelings on being the Avatar and his father. 

_ If I can’t fix my own problems _ , thought Zuko,  _ how am I supposed to fix the world? _

Getting on the ferry to Ba Sing Se was difficult. First, the woman at the desk demanded a passport. Zuko’s uncle somehow managed to produce a fake passport. She gave them a ticket, but said Chezu wasn’t allowed on the ferry. Once they got their ticket, they had to maneuver through the crowd of people. Some woman was yelling about stolen luggage. Zuko and his uncle held on tight so that they wouldn’t lose their luggage while Zuko figured out how to smuggle a bird onto a plane. 

He eventually resorted to leaving Chezu outside, then using a piece of food to get him to fly to the ferry. The children watching him were very excited. Meanwhile, his uncle sat nearby and drank tea. One boy about his age walked up to him. 

“Impressive.” he said. 

“Thanks.” said Zuko as he rewarded his eagle-hawk. 

“What are you gonna do now?” asked another boy. 

“Take him to Ba Sing Se.” said Zuko. “He’s mine.” 

“How’d you get yourself a pet eagle hawk?” asked the first boy. 

“I found him when he was a baby.” said Zuko. “I guess we just liked each other.” 

“Cool.” said the boy. “What’s his name?” 

“Chezu.” said Zuko. “What about you?” 

“My name’s Jet.” said the boy. “I’m going to Ba Sing Se with my friends Longshot and Smellerbee.” 

“Smellerbee.” said Zuko’s uncle. “That’s an interesting name for a young man.” 

“Maybe that’s because I’m  _ not  _ a young man.” said Smellerbee. “I’m a girl.” 

“Anyway,” said Jet, “what’s your story?” 

“My name’s Lee.” said Zuko. “That’s my uncle Mushi.” He couldn’t come up with a fake history. 

Longshot waved politely. 

That evening, Zuko was sitting on the deck, eating gross ferry food. “The food is terrible!” he complained. 

Jet walked over to him. “They have really good stuff in the kitchen.” he said. “They’re saving it for the crew. Whaddya say we help ourselves?” 

Zuko wasn’t fond of stealing food, but he did want a good dinner. “Sure.” he said. 

The two boys used a zipline made by Longshot to slip through a kitchen window. Once in there, they stole a bunch of food, threw it in sacks, then used the zipline to get out. Jet then cut the rope. 

“Are you sure leaving an arrow in the railing is a good idea?” asked Zuko. 

“It’s not like we can pull it out.” said Jet. “Besides, if the rope’s not attached, they have no way of knowing about the zipline. They’ll assume somebody was using the kitchen as target practice or something.” 

Zuko didn’t argue with that logic. He just opened the sack and found some noodles. Jet was right; it was delicious. 

“I know what that scar means.” said Jet. 

Zuko put his guard up. This could get messy. 

“It means you’re an outcast.” said Jet. “like me. We need to have each other’s backs.” 

“I’ve realized that being on your own isn’t always the best path.” said Zuko. He thought about his brief stint in the Northern Water Tribe, where he’d left his uncle behind and gone into the city. That was where he learned he was the Avatar. 

Once they were off of the ferry, they got tickets to the monorail. Zuko watched in disgust as his uncle flirted with the elderly ticket lady. In the station, his uncle bought jasmine tea, then spit it out because it was cold. Zuko then caught him firebending to warm the tea, which upset him. Zuko didn’t like cold tea either, but they couldn’t afford to be exposed. 

He knocked the tea out of his uncle’s hand. “What are you doing?” he scolded quietly. “You can’t heat your tea! People will know we’re firebenders!” 

His uncle started crying. “I know people say there’s no reason to cry over spilled tes, but it’s just so sad.” he complained. 

“Come on,” said Zuko, “the train’s coming soon.” 

The two got on the train and sat next to a couple with a baby. Zuko thought the baby was cute, but decided not to play with her. His uncle did that. 

On the way into the city, Zuko saw a broken Fire Nation drill stuck halfway in the city wall. “Oh no.” he said. “What has my father done this time?” 

  


##  Toph

Toph pushed the rock farther into the drill. She knew Suri wouldn’t want her to do this, but she had to. If the drill wasn’t stopped, it would tunnel straight into Ba Sing Se. 

“Need any help?” asked a nearby girl. 

“N- actually, yeah.” said Toph. It was hard for her to admit when she needed help. “Are you an earthbender?” 

“But I am a waterbender.” said the girl, apparently not realizing that Toph was basically blind. “Maybe we could clog up those pipes or something.” 

Toph was disappointed that she didn’t have another earthbender, but clogging up the pipes seemed smart. “That’s a great idea!” she said. 

The two girls ran to the back of the drill and plugged up the drainage pipe. While doing that, the other girl complained that she couldn’t see anything through the smoke. 

“Looks the same to me.” said Toph. Really, the only difference was that the shape of the drill had faded. 

“You’re blind.” said the girl. 

Toph nodded. “Always have been.” she said. “Now plug up that pipe. I wanna see this thing burst.” 

The girl didn’t ask how she was going to see the explosion. She just forced the sludgy water back into the pipe. Meanwhile, Toph stuck a rock in the pipe, preventing outflow. It took ages, but the pipe finally burst. When that happened, the drill stopped and Toph heard people shouting. 

“We should get outta here.” said the girl. 

“Agreed.” said Toph. 

Toph followed the other girl, who met a boy. “Stupid plan.” he said. “But hey, you did stop the Fire Nation from drilling into Ba Sing Se. Who’s this?” 

“My name’s Toph.” said Toph. 

“Nice to meet you, Toph.” said the boy. “I’m Sokka and this is my sister Katara.” 

“What are you doing out here, anyway?” she asked. 

“We got kidnapped in the desert. The guys who kidnapped us ran off when they saw the drill.” said Katara. “They said we were just outside Ba Sing Se. Is that true?” 

“Yep.” said Toph. “I thought you’d know that, seeing as there’s a giant wall right there, but I guess it wasn’t obvious.” 

Sokka sighed. “Can we just go in and find some food and a place to stay?” he asked. 

“Good idea.” said Katara. “Toph, would you mind coming with us?” 

“Might as well.” she said. “I’m going back into the city anyway.” 

The three kids went back to the city. Katara and Sokka revealed that they were from the Southern Water Tribe and were trying to go there when they got kidnapped. 

“Why were you in the desert?” asked Toph. 

“We met this swamp guy who told us to find the Avatar.” said Sokka. 

Toph questioned their intelligence, but didn’t say anything about it. Katara asked if there was a place she and her brother could stay at. The only place Toph could think of was the house she, Suri, and Kiyi were living in. So that was where she took them. 

“Where’ve you been?” asked Suri. “And who are these people?” 

“Saving the city from an attack.” said Toph. “And these two helped me.” 

“Oh, that’s lovely.” said Suri. “What are their names?” 

“I’m Katara, and this is my brother Sokka.” said Katara. “What’s your name?” 

“My name’s Suri.” said Suri. “Nice to meet you.” 

Over the next few days, Toph learned a lot about Katara and Sokka. They were traveling alone because their father was fighting in the war. Toph told them her own story, which Katara found puzzling. 

“Your mother doesn’t seem overprotective.” said Katara. 

“Suri’s not my mother.” answered Toph. “You’re about the fiftieth person to assume that. Do we look alike or something?” she asked. 

“A little bit.” said Katara. “Not as much as her and Kiyi, though.” 

“I wish she was my mother.” said Toph. “But nope- she was a servant.” 

“You had servants?” asked Sokka. 

“I’m a Beifong.” she said. “Of course we had servants.” 

Neither Katara nor Sokka commented on this. They probably didn’t know that the Beifongs were one of the wealthiest families in the Earth Kingdom. 

The next day, the kids went to the market. Toph liked going to the market, even though she had trouble actually buying anything. Suri had a few things she wanted them to buy. While searching for a fruit vendor, Katara stopped. 

“Hi.” she said awkwardly. 

“Hi.” said a boy. “Looking for something?” 

“Uh, yeah, actually. We’re looking for cute- I mean, fruit.” 

“Oh.” he said. “Well, I haven’t been here for very long, but I’ve already found beauty… full fruit.” 

“Well, I’ve seen some very… handsome boys… chewing wheat.” said Katara. 

The two kept talking, but Toph stopped listening. Katara had clearly forgotten why she was talking to the boy in the first place. Toph heard the boy say his name: Jet.  _ That’s a weird name _ , she thought. But she had more important things. 

“Sokka,” she said, “Your sister’s distracted. Let’s get the fruit ourselves.” 

“Okay.” said Sokka. “Just remember to pick her up on the way home.” 

Toph laughed. “Sure thing, Sokka.” she said. Then she followed Sokka down the street. 

##  Katara

Katara liked Jet. Not just because he was cute, although that was certainly part of it. He was also ____________. Near the end of their talk, he asked her if she wanted to go out with him. She said yes, though she wasn’t sure if Suri would let her. Then Toph was yelling at her, so she had to say goodbye to Jet. 

Suri, it turned out, had no problem with Katara’s plans. “If it’s not illegal, go ahead and do it.” she said. 

Katara met Jet near the market where they met. “Hi.” he said. 

“Hi.” she said. “Do you have a plan?” 

“Sort of.” said Jet. He extended his hand. “Come on; I’ll show you around.” 

Jet showed her the block and they stopped in a restaurant. 

“Are we eating here?” asked Katara. 

“If you want.” said Jet. 

Katara did want to, so they went into the restaurant. They sat down and ordered their food, then talked. 

“So, how’d you end up here?” asked Katara. 

“I got on the ferry.” he said. “Before that, I was a rebel. Lived in the woods with my buddies- we called ourselves the Freedom Fighters. You’ll meet them someday.” 

“Oh.” said Katara. “My brother and I got kidnapped by slave traders.” 

“That sounds… unfortunate, but interesting.” said Jet. 

“Yeah.” she said. “At least we didn't run out of water. We were in the desert.” 

“That’s rough.” said Jet. 

Their food came and the two teens ate and talked. At one point, Jet leaned toward her. “There’s something I should tell you.” he whispered. 

“What?” Katara asked. 

“Two of the refugees are firebenders.” he said. “I saw them on the train.” 

“Are you sure?” she asked. 

“I’m trying to prove it.” he admitted. “They’re both men- an old, fat guy and a boy our age with a scar near his left eye. Both pale-skinned. I caught the old guy firebending his tea. They’re working at the ______ Tea Shop.” 

_ Zuko _ , Katara thought, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she asked why he was telling her this.

“Because I think they’re actually Fire Nation spies.“ he said. “A refugee outfit is the perfect disguise.” 

He had a point. “Besides,” he said, “the Fire Nation killed my parents. I know how dangerous they are.” 

“So do I.” said Katara. “They killed my mother.” 

Her put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.” he said. 

Later, Katara told Toph and Sokka. Both were intrigued about the possibility, though Toph didn’t know who Zuko was. “If the Fire Nation was sending spies, wouldn’t they send nonbenders?” asked Sokka. 

“You’d think so, but I guess not.” said Katara. 

“We should check it out.” said Toph. “What’s the name of that tea shop again?” 

“______.” said Katara. “But I told Suri I’d babysit Kiyi tomorrow.” 

“Ask her if you can take her to the tea shop.” said Toph. “She’ll probably say yes.” 

Katara asked Suri the next day. Sure enough, she said yes. The only condition was that Katara kept her eye on Kiyi the whole time. Katara said she’d do that. 

The next day, the four kids went to the shop. Toph insisted on coming even though she couldn’t help look for him. Kiyi wanted cookies, but Katara explained that it was a tea shop. 

“Do you see him?” asked Sokka. 

“Not yet.” said Katara. 

“I’m thirsty.” said Kiyi. 

“Toph, can you go in and buy some tea?” asked Katara. 

“Why do I have to do it?” complained Toph. 

“Zuko might recognize us.” said Katara. 

“Fine.” Toph grumbled. “What kind do you want?” 

Kiyi told her. Toph went into the shop while Katara and Sokka kept looking. “There he is!” said Sokka, pointing. 

Katara looked. Sure enough, Zuko was standing in the shop, wearing a uniform. “He looks so different now.” said Katara. 

Toph came out. “Did you see him?” she asked. 

Both siblings nodded. “He was one of the servers.” said Katara. 

“Are you sure this Zuko guy’s the Avatar?” asked Toph. “I didn’t see anything unusual in there.” 

“You can’t see much of anything.” said Sokka. 

“There still wasn’t anything weird in there.” she said. 

“We met a guy named Huu in a swamp.” said Katara. “He told us Zuko was the Avatar.” 

“So you’re relying on a guy in a swamp?” asked Toph. 

“Well, he did see the world through this magic tree.” said Sokka. 

Toph sighed. Katara knew it sounded stupid, and it probably was stupid, but it was the only explanation they had. 

“Even if he is the Avatar,” said Toph, “why should we care? He’s not gonna save the world.” 

“Maybe he will.” said Kiyi. “Isn’t that the Avatar’s job?” 

“Yeah, but the last three Avatars have failed.” said Katara. “Besides, he’s a firebender. Why would he go against his own people?” 

  
  
  



	8. Secrets and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko finds a waterbender in Ba Sing Se and learns a secret. Toph learns the hidden truth of Ba Sing Se. Katara finds a disturbing underground operation- literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I messed up the first time I wrote this chapter(it was a copy of chapter 7). Whoops; it’s fixed now.

##  Zuko

“Uncle,” said Zuko, “Can you take over my work for a bit?” 

“I guess,” said his uncle, “but why?” 

“I saw that girl from the Southern Water Tribe.” he said. “The waterbender.” 

“You want to talk to her?” asked his uncle. 

“I want to learn from her.” 

“Go ahead.” said the old man. “But don’t count on it.” 

Zuko followed the girl and her companions to a house in the refugee slums. Once they’d vanished into a house, he hid in an alley and composed himself. Then he knocked on the door. 

A short girl with black hair and cloudy eyes answered the door. “Hey,” she said, “What do you want?” 

“I- I was wondering if any of you want tea.” he said. 

“No, we don’t. Go away.” the girl turned and tried to slam the door. 

“Wait!” shouted Zuko. 

The girl turned around. “What?” she asked. 

“Do any waterbenders live here?” 

“Why do you ask?” 

“I- I have a… plumbing issue.” he lied. “Nobody else can fix it.” 

“In that case, wait here.” said the girl. She turned around and apparently talked to people in the house. A minute later, she appeared with a dark-haired woman in her forties. Zuko tried to stay stoic, but it was hard; she looked like his mother. 

“Hello.” said the woman. “Do you need any help?” 

“Yes.” said Zuko. “I need a waterbender.” 

“Well then, you’re in luck.” she said. “What’s your name?” 

“Lee.” he said, giving her his fake name. 

“Why, hello Lee.” she said. “I’m Suri. Come in.” 

Zuko followed Suri into the house. It was small and poorly furnished. He saw the waterbender girl nearby, playing with a younger girl. The waterbender also saw her. 

“You again.” she said. 

“You two know each other?” said Suri. 

“He showed up in my hometown looking for the Avatar, so yes.” said the girl. 

“Well, now he’s looking for a waterbender.” said Suri. 

Zuko pointed to the older girl. “Can I talk to her?” he asked. 

“That’s up to Katara.” said Suri. 

Zuko walked up to the waterbender, who stood up. “What do you want?” she said defensively. 

“I- I need you to teach me.” he said. 

“Teach you  _ what _ ?” she asked. 

“I have to pee.” said the younger girl. She got up and left. 

Zuko choked the words out. “I’m the Avatar. I need a waterbending teacher.” 

Katara glared at him. “Do you have  _ any idea _ what your people did to mine?” she snapped. 

“Katara, be nice.” called Suri. 

“Sort of.” said Zuko. 

“I lost my mother to the Fire Nation!” Katara hissed. 

“That’s something we have in common.” said Zuko. 

Katara was confused. “But you  _ are  _ Fire Nation.” she said. 

“Course I am.” said Zuko. “She disappeared when I was eleven. Two years later, I was exiled.” 

“I’m sorry.” said Katara. “But you spent three years searching for yourself. I’m not sure I wanna try to teach you.” 

“I’m not stupid!” said Zuko. “Even my own father doesn’t know I’m the Avatar.” 

“Then maybe it runs in the family.” she said. 

“Stop insulting me!” yelled Zuko. 

“What on earth is going on?” asked Suri. 

Immediately, Katara, her brother, Zuko, and the blind girl all told her their series of events simultaneously. The youngest girl was still in the bathroom. 

“Hold on,” said Suri, “are you the Avatar, a banished Fire Nation citizen, or a bounty hunter?” 

“I’m a banished prince.” said Zuko. “I’m also the Avatar.” 

“Wait, you’re the Fire Prince?” she asked. 

“Yes.” There was no avoiding it now. 

“Is your name really Lee?” she asked. 

“No.” Zuko admitted. “My name is Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai, banished prince of the Fire Nation.” 

“Zuko.” she said. She reached her hand toward his face. He slapped it away. 

“Sorry.” she said. “It’s just… I thought I’d never see you again.” 

“What are you talking about? I don’t know you.” snapped Zuko. 

“You used to.” she said. “I didn’t recognize you, but when you said your name and Ozai’s name, I knew.” She paused. “I’m your mother.” 

##  Toph

Toph did  _ not _ see that coming. 

First, Katara and Sokka found the Avatar at a tea shop. Then he apparently followed them home and had the guts to knock on the door. In twenty minutes, Toph learned that Suri, a widowed servant of the Beifong family, was the Fire Lord’s former wife and the Avatar was her son. No wonder Suri didn’t talk about her past. 

“You’re my mother?” asked Zuko. 

Suri nodded. “Did Ursa tell you? She probably wasn’t allowed to.” 

“Who’s Ursa?” asked Toph. 

“My mother.” said Zuko. “At least, that’s what I thought.” 

“She told me… my mother was… a waterbender.” stammered Zuko. 

“She wasn’t lying.” said Suri. Toph heard water moving. “I am a waterbender.” 

A pause. “How do you know her?” asked Zuko. 

“You can’t see the resemblance?” asked Suri playfully. “I’m her little sister.” 

Toph felt a faint heartbeat through the counter. Judging from the direction it came from, it was Suri’s. She must’ve put her hand on the counter just now. If Toph concentrated on the vibrations, she could tell if Suri was lying. They were normal- for Suri, anyway; everyone was a little different. Though Toph had no idea why she would lie in this situation. 

“Hold on,” said Toph, “you’re a waterbender from the Fire Nation?” 

“Yes.” said Suri. “My father was imprisoned there. He escaped the prison, but never left the islands. I lived on the Fire Islands for twenty years.” 

“Did you have to hide your bending?” asked Katara. 

“Every day.” said Suri. No change in her heart rate. 

“So did I.” said Katara. 

“Wait, are you Azula’s mother, too?” asked Zuko. 

“Who’s Azula?” asked Suri. 

“My sister.” said Zuko. 

Silence.  _ That would be a  _ no, Toph thought. 

“Well Zuko,” said Suri, “If you want to learn waterbending, come by tomorrow. I’ll be happy to teach you.” 

Zuko said goodbye and left. 

That wasn’t the only weird thing in the city. One night, Sokka said how odd it was that nobody mentioned the war here. Toph realized he was right. 

“It’s like they don’t know there  _ is _ a war.” she said. 

“Actually,” said Katara, “the other day, I mentioned the war to Jet. Someone overheard us and yelled that there is no war.” 

“I was right.” said Toph. 

“How can they think there’s no war when there’s literally a Fire Nation drill stuck in the wall?” asked Sokka. 

“I don’t think anyone’s been out there.” said Katara. 

“We have.” said Toph. “So have all the other refugees.” 

“You’re right.” said Sokka. “They must not be talking about it.” 

The next day, something even weirder happened. Jet disappeared. Toph didn’t really care, but Katara was worried. She decided to put up “missing” posters around town. Sokka tried to draw Jet’s face for the poster, but Katara said Sokka couldn’t draw and had someone else do it. Toph, Kiyi, Suri, and Sokka all helped her put the posters up throughout the city. 

“Suri and Kiyi, take this stack and go to the upper ring.” said Katara. “Sokka and I will cover the lower ring. Toph, you go with Sokka.” 

Toph was mildly offended. “What,” she said, “you think I can’t put up  _ posters _ by myself?” She reached out, grabbed a poster, and slapped it on a nearby wall. Nobody said anything. 

“It’s upside down, isn’t it?” she said. “Fine, I’ll go with Sokka.” 

Toph and Sokka wandered through the streets of Ba Sing Se. Since Toph couldn’t see the ink on the posters, she carried the stack. Every now and then, Sokka grabbed a poster and stuck it to a wall. Toph tried to keep track of where they’d been, but it was easy to get lost in such a large city. 

The next day, Toph, Katara, and Sokka were walking around the city when Katara shouted “Jet! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you! Where’ve you been?” 

“I was visiting the Earth King.” said Jet. 

Toph scoffed. “A likely story.” she said sarcastically. She didn’t know him well enough to tell if he was lying, but the outrageousness of the statement spoke for itself. 

“I’m serious!” insisted Jet. “The Dai Li said…” 

“Wait,” said Sokka, “you were with the Dai Li?” 

“Yeah.” said Jet. 

“They arrested him for fighting.” said a nearby girl. 

“No they didn’t! I never fought anyone!” protested Jet. 

“Yeah you did.” insisted the girl. “You fought that guy with the big eye scar outside the tea shop.” 

“I swear, I’ve never fought anyone!” Jet countered. 

“Wait… guy with an eye scar outside a tea shop?” asked Katara. “Was he pale with dark brown hair, about Sokka’s age?” 

“Yeah,” said the girl, “why?” 

“I don’t know what she’s talking about!” insisted Jet. 

“Jet,” said Katara, “Remember what you told me about the firebending refugees?” 

“Katara, I don’t think now’s a good time-” Toph started. 

Jet cut her off. “Firebending refugees?” he said. “That makes no sense.” 

“You really don’t remember?” she asked. “You should remember.” 

“I think he’s been brainwashed.” said Sokka. 

“Hold on,” said Toph, “you think he’s been  _ what now _ ?” 

“Katara said he doesn’t remember the refugees.” explained Sokka. “But there’s no way he’d just forget something like that.” 

“Last week, Jet told me about two refugees he thought were firebenders.” said Katara. “Smellerbee’s description of the guy Jet fought sounds like one of them.” 

“I get it!” exclaimed Toph. “Also, who’s Smellerbee?” 

“I’m Smellerbee.” said the girl. 

“You think the Dai Li’s brainwashing people?” asked Sokka. “That sounds… creepy.” 

“We should do something.” said Katara firmly. 

“Like what? Hunt down the Dai Li?” asked Toph. 

“Yes.” said Katara. 

##  Katara

“What exactly do you think we’ll find here?” asked Sokka. 

“I don’t know, but the Dai Li are hiding it for a reason.” said Katara. She gripped Jet’s arm. 

It had taken hours of painful interrogation to find this place. Eventually, Jet had told them that he’d been sent on a “vacation” to Lake Laogai. The group figured that whatever was going on there would reveal what happened to Jet. 

Katara didn’t like this place. First of all, it was basically a metal compound under the lake. Even Toph was uncomfortable, and she usually didn’t mind being underground. The lights cast eerie shadows on the cold floor. At one point, they passed a room full of identically-dressed women saying “I’m Ju Di. Welcome to Ba Sing Se” in a perfectly synchronized, emotionless manner. There was something non-human about the way they said it. 

It turned out that the Dai Li were, in fact, at this compound. The group found that out the hard way by walking right into them. “Well,” said Sokka, “I think we found the Dai Li.” 

“Yes you have.” said the man in front. “I’m Long Feng, leader of the Dai Li. And you are unauthorized intruders.” 

“Hey!” snapped Katara. “You brainwashed Jet! We have good reason to be here.” 

“Brainwashing.” said Long Feng. “A bold claim. And how can you support it?” 

“We have our evidence.” said Toph. “But you don’t need to hear it.” 

“Dai Li,” said Long Feng, “Arrest these intruders.” 

Immediately, the Dai Li attacked the teens with their earth gloves. Everyone in the group fought back. Katara batted the gloves away with her waterbending, Sokka, Jet, and Smellerbee lunged at the Dai Li with their swords, Longshot shot them with his arrows, and Toph caught and used the Dai Li’s launched gloves. Just when Katara thought they might make it out alive, Long Feng turned the tides against them. 

“Jet,” he said, “The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai for a vacation.” 

Jet stopped attacking the Dai Li and stood up. “I will gladly accept his invitation.” 

Suddenly, Jet turned around and attacked Sokka. Sokka slashed at Jet with his sword while trying to protect himself from the Dai Li. 

“Jet! No!” yelled Katara. “Jet, don’t do this! Jet!” 

It didn’t work. Jet kept attacking Sokka, who ran behind Longshot. Katara hit one of the Dai Li with a watery slap, then turned to Jet. 

“Jet,” she called desperately, “You’re a Freedom Fighter, remember?” 

Jet stopped attacking Sokka. He looked around in confusion. Then he threw his hooked sword at Long Feng. Long Feng dodged the attack, then picked up the sword and threw it at Jet. The sword pierced Jet’s stomach. Katara screamed. The Dai Li ran off. 

Katara remembered the healing skills Yugoda had taught her. She tried to heal Jet with whatever water she could gather, but it wasn’t working. 

“We gotta leave.” said Jet. 

“No.” said Katar. “Not until you’re okay.” 

“Leave.” he said. “Take me up to the surface. I’ll be fine.” 

“We should go up.” said Longshot. “None of us want to die in this place.” 

“Okay.” said Katara. She, Smellerbee, and Longshot picked Jet up and carried him to the surface. On the shore of Lake Laogai, Katara tried to heal an unconscious Jet. Eventually, he stopped breathing. Toph put her hand on Jet’s neck. 

“He’s gone.” she said. 

Immediately, Katara started crying. “NOOOOO!” she shrieked. “”No!” She felt Toph and Sokka hugging her. Jet was dead. Nothing mattered anymore. 

After some time, Katara looked up at the others. “We have to tell the Earth King.” she said. “No way the Dai Li are getting away with this.” 

The others were more reluctant. Smellerbee and Toph in particular wanted nothing to do with the Dai Li and suggested leaving the city. Eventually, Katara, Sokka, and Toph said goodbye to Smellerbee and Longshot and left for the palace. 

Unsurprisingly, the palace was heavily guarded. First, earthbenders threw flying rocks at them. Then the three had to fight through rows of guards before getting to the palace. Katara was nearly crushed by rock on multiple occasions. Once they got through the first round, they were faced by a hundred stairs. Luckily, Toph bumped her toe on the first stair and proceeded to flatten all of them. Then she made the ground under their feet rise. “Hold on tight!” she shouted as they went up and forward. When they finally got to the top, she looked tired, but kept fighting. 

There were even more guards inside the palace. After bursting through the door, Sokka asked where the Earth King was. Katara was too busy knocking out a guard to answer, but Toph said, “How should I know? I’m still voting we  _ leave  _ Ba Sing Se.” Sokka ran off somewhere, leaving the girls to fight the guards. 

Eventually, they found the Earth King. But finding him was just the first step. It turned out that he didn’t even know there was a war, never mind a huge plot involving his own security force. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Long Feng was there, trying to convince the king that they were liars. Then Katara remembered something. 

“We may be liars,” she said, “but at least we found the Avatar.” 

The Earth King looked at her. “The Avatar?” he asked. 

“Yes.” she said. “The Avatar.” 

“He’s in Omashu, isn’t he?” asked the king. 

“No,” said Sokka, “he’s in Ba Sing Se, disguised as a refugee. In fact, we can take you to him if you want.” 

“Why would he be disguised as a refugee?” asked the king. 

“Because he’s from the Fire Nation.” 

The king was visibly confused at this statement. “No he isn’t!” he exclaimed. 

“They really kept you in the dark, didn’t you?” said Toph. “Avatar Yaogun died ages ago. The new Avatar is a banished firebender.” 

“They’re lying!” said Long Feng. “Of course Avatar Yaogun is alive!” 

“Oh really?” said Toph, “When was the last time you heard from him?” 

The Earth King thought about this. “Well, he did send me a letter about… eighteen years ago.” he said. 

“Exactly!” said Sokka. “You haven’t even heard from the guy in eighteen years!” 

“I suppose he might be dead.” said the king. 

“We can prove the war and the conspiracy are real and take you to the Avatar.” said Katara boldly. “Though, just knowing what city he’s in puts you ahead of almost everybody.” 

“Well,” said the king, “Bosco seems to like you. I’ll see what kind of proof you can come up with.” 

They ended up taking him to the drill, which the Dai Li had been unable to cover up. The king was reluctant, but agreed when they said they would also take him to a sweets shop near the wall. Long Feng tried to explain the drill as a “construction project”, but Katara pointed out that it had the Fire Nation symbol on it. The earth king had Long Feng arrested and asked the kids to take him to the sweets shop. 

When they returned to the palace, a general ran up to the king. “Your Majesty,” he said, “We found secret files the Dai Li were keeping.” 

The five of them went to a closet to read the records. The only two that Katara cared about were a letter from Toph’s mother and an intelligence report about warriors led by Chief Hakoda. 

“Dad!” she exclaimed. 

“We can see Dad again!” cheered Sokka. 

“And I can see my mom and brother!” cheered Toph. Katara had read both letters aloud. 

“Well, actually, you can’t.” said Sokka. “But they can see you.” 

“Hey, making blind jokes is  _ my _ job!” said Toph playfully. 

The next day, the three of them said goodbye to each other and to Suri and Kiyi. Toph was going to visit her mother and brother. Katara and Sokka were even more excited; they were going to see their father for the first time in years. 


	9. Deflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suri tries to teach Zuko waterbending. Tenzin, an airbender, is called to defend Ba Sing Se. Katara and Sokka reunite with their dad.

##  Zuko

Zuko had thought being banished was bad. He thought airbending was bad. Well, he wasn’t wrong, but waterbending was even worse. 

Suri started by having him bend water in a bowl- which Zuko completely failed to do. “Slow down, take a breath, and try again.” said Suri. Zuko did that and he still failed. After a few attempts, they both realized this was going nowhere. “Let’s do a dry run.” suggested his teacher. 

It turned out that the phrase “dry run” was used literally. Suri pulled the water out of the bowl, put it back in, and then had Zuko copy her movements. After a few tries, Zuko could copy her, so she brought out the water. Zuko repeated the movements, but the water didn’t move. 

“It’s not working.” he said. 

“Are you sure you’re the Avatar?” asked Suri. 

Zuko responded with an aggressive air blast. 

“Okay,” she said, “In that case, let’s try something else.” 

She had him do the same motions, but starting with his hand in the bowl. Instead of bending the water, Zuko splashed it on himself. “Darn it!” he said. “I used to love water.” 

“Kiyi and I are the same way.” said his mother. “You should see her swim. She’s like a little waterbending fish.” 

“I don’t care about that!” yelled Zuko. “I need to know how to waterbend!”

“Well, for starters, aggression will get you nowhere.” said Suri. “Here, I have an idea. Stand still.” 

Suri reached over and put her fingers on his temples. Zuko wondered what on earth she was doing, but didn’t say anything. Then she started moving her fingers around his face. He felt her fingers going up, down, toward each other, away from each other. Then she took her hands off. “Better?” she said. 

“Less angry.” he said. It was true. 

“That’s what I thought.” she said. “Let’s try waterbending again.” 

Suri’s technique did quite a bit for Zuko’s mood, but absolutely nothing for his waterbending abilities. That became obvious within minutes. “Your little trick didn’t help me waterbend.” said Zuko. 

“It wasn’t supposed to.” said Suri. “It was supposed to calm you down, and it did. Now we need to work on the waterbending.” 

The next day, Zuko tried to waterbend again. After several hours, the only thing he’d accomplished was getting himself tired and wet. Oh, and Kiyi pointed out how bad he was. 

“I can bend better than that, and I’m ten!” she said. 

“Kiyi, be nice.” Suri scolded. She turned to Zuko. “Ignore her. Let’s try again.” 

“We’ve tried everything!” yelled Zuko. “Maybe I’m just not cut out for waterbending.” 

“I disagree.” said Suri. “All Avatars can do this. Also, you’re not only the Avatar, you’re my kid, and  _ I _ can do it.” 

“We’ve still tried everything.” said Zuko. 

“No, we haven’t.” she said slowly. “Can you swim?” 

* * *

Zuko should’ve lied to her about his swimming abilities. Then again, he didn’t want to embarrass himself by being worse than a ten-year-old again. 

As it was, Suri had taken him and Kiyi to a nearby lake. “Jump in.” she’d said. 

“Are you serious?” asked Zuko. 

She nodded. “Bending is about motion.” she said. “So if you want to learn how to bend water, you must know how to move it. Now jump in.” 

Kiyi jumped in immediately and started swimming. When Zuko hesitated, Suri shoved him and he fell face-first into the lake. He then turned over, stuck his head up, and started yelling at her. 

“Stop yelling and start swimming.” she said, bending the water away from her. 

Zuko realized he had no choice. So now he was swimming in a large circle around the lake. His clothes were heavy with water, so he pulled up to the shore and took his shirt off. Then Suri told him to keep swimming. 

“Slowly,” she said, “this isn’t a race. Focus on the movement of your limbs.” 

Zuko did that. One, two, his arms paddled forward. One, two, his legs kicked in the water. It got tiring. “What do I do now?” he shouted. 

“Keep swimming.” she said. “I’m going to bend.” 

Suddenly, Zuko felt a current moving against him. Zuko pushed harder to keep himself from being swept backwards. 

“It’s not about pushing  _ harder _ .” shouted his instructor. “You have to counter-bend.” 

“While swimming?” he asked incredulously. 

“Yes.” 

_ Well, how do I do that? _ , wondered Zuko. Then he remembered the motions Suri had shown him earlier. Apparently he was supposed to do them underwater. So he found a shallow spot and planted his feet in the bottom of the lake. The water went up to his shoulders, and it was threatening to knock him down. He tried to remember exactly what to do. Then he realized he had no choice but to push. 

Zuko stuck out his right hand and pushed the water away from him. When that didn’t work, he stuck out his left hand. The current slowed and a ridge of water formed in front of him. He turned to Suri, but she wasn’t bending; she was clapping. By now, a very wet Kiyi had gotten out of the water and was clapping too. 

“Good job, Zuko!” she exclaimed. “Sorry for what I said earlier.” 

Zuko couldn’t believe it. He was actually bending the water. “Thanks.” he said. “Can I get out now?” 

Zuko sat on the ground with Suri and her daughter. Suri was drying the wet clothes nearby. It was so weird to think of this woman as his mother. It was equally weird to think of Kiyi as his sister. Kiyi was sitting on the grass, idly bending the water in her hair- something Azula would never do. 

“You’re really the Avatar?” she asked without stopping her bending. 

“Yeah.” said Zuko. “Nobody knows that, though. Most people think I’m just a banished Fire Prince.” 

“I wish I was a Fire Prince.” said Kiyi. “Well, Fire Princess.” 

“It’s not as much fun as you’d think.” said Zuko. “Especially if you’re banished.” 

“Banished?” asked Kiyi. “Why’d you get banished?” 

Zuko sighed. “Because I spoke in a war meeting when I wasn’t supposed to.” 

“Oops.” said Kiyi. “Do they really banish people for that?” 

Zuko nodded. Kiyi dropped her water, reached over, and hugged him. Zuko was surprised, but let her do it. That was another thing that didn’t happen back home. 

“You’re gonna be a great Avatar.” she said. 

Zuko smiled. “Thank you.” he said. 

##  Tenzin

Tenzin and the Kyoshi Warriors had two things in common. First, neither of them wanted anything to do with the war. But both had been summoned by the Earth King to protect Ba Sing Se. The city had recently been attacked, and he feared a second attempt. 

Actually, he’d summoned all the Air Nomads, but not all of them could come. So they picked out 20 men to go to Ba Sing Se. Since there were so few Air Nomads, this was most on the men. The women, elderly men, and children, including Tenzin’s girlfriend Remi, would stay behind. 

“I don’t want anything to happen to you.” said Tenzin. 

“I’ll be fine.” said Remi. “The Air Temple is well protected. Your sister and the other Airbending Masters will guard it. You need to guard the city.” 

“Okay.” said Tenzin. “Goodbye.” 

“Goodbye.” she said. “Good luck at Ba Sing Se.” 

All his life, Tenzin had been told to detach himself from worldly concerns. He’d even considered becoming a monk, but rejected that route in favor of romance and eventual fatherhood. Now here he was, tangling himself up in a worldly war. Except that he didn’t really care about Ba Sing Se. It was just a name to him. What he cared about was the balance of nature. And right now, the best way to protect that was to protect Ba Sing Se. 

The Air Nomads met the Kyoshi Warriors outside the city. When he met them, Tenzin bowed respectfully. 

“You’re airbenders.” said one warrior. “What are you doing here?” 

“Protecting the balance of nature.” said the man next to Tenzin. “The Earth King asked us to come.” 

“Same.” said the warrior. “For a hundred years, we stayed out of the war. Now it seems we have no choice.” 

Tenzin looked at the city. It was so big, so earthy, so unlike his home. And yet, he didn’t mind it. 

“Are you earthbenders?” he asked. 

“No.” said the warrior. “Just highly trained in the art of fighting.” 

The two groups went to the wall and stood guard. There, somebody told them to see the Earth King. It seemed that they were more than mere sentries to him. 

The Earth King greeted them in his palace. “I fear that the enemies are not only outside, but inside.” he said. “Airbenders, watch the city from the skies. Kyoshi warriors, stay here. I need military advice.” 

The Airbenders got up and went to the courtyard. Out there, they took their gliders and launched themselves into the skies. Three of the men rode on a flying bison. Tenzin liked flying bison, but he didn’t have one of his own. It didn’t bother him; he liked flying on his glider. 

The city was huge and full of people. It would be difficult to survey such a large area, so they split up. Tenzin got one of the refugee slums. At first, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Children stopped what they were doing to look at him, but adults largely ignored him. He saw people working, walking down the street, and buying food at the market. Then he saw something that made him stop: a waterbender. 

It was unusual to see waterbenders here. Most of them were in the North Pole, though some were in the Foggy Swamp. The refugees were mostly Earth Kingdom citizens from war-torn areas. Tenzin knew that the Southern Water Tribe had been ravaged by the Fire Nation, but none of them would flee this far inland. So he swooped down to inspect. 

There were actually two people waterbending: a woman and a teenage boy. They were doing it over a large pot of water. Both had dark hair and were wearing clothing typical of refugees. They looked up when they saw his shadow, then looked back at the pot. Wait a second… Tenzin knew the boy. He’d seen that face before, that scar. Heck, even the bending style was familiar. 

“Zuko.” he said quietly. The new Avatar, the boy he’d trained just a month prior, was in the Earth Kingdom’s capital. 

Tenzin debated whether or not to tell anyone. In the end, the decision was almost made for him. Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, saw him that evening. 

“How was the patrol?” she asked. 

“Fine.” he said. “These refugees are quite cooperative. No arrests, no riots, no angry platypus bears…” 

Suki laughed. “All good things.” 

After a pause, she spoke. “Can I tell you something?” she asked. 

“Sure.” said Tenzin. 

“I think somebody’s disguised as a Kyoshi Warrior.” she said. “The Earth King told us that three of our warriors came a couple days ago, but we didn’t send anyone.” 

“Why would they do that?” asked Tenzin. 

“I’m not sure.” she said. 

One of the other Kyoshi Warriors spoke up. “What is in this city that an imposter would want?” she asked. 

“The Earth King?” said Suki. “Knowledge of the city’s weak spots?” 

“Well, yeah.” said the other warrior. “Anything else?” 

“The Avatar.” said Tenzin. 

Both women looked at him. “The Avatar’s not in Ba Sing Se.” said Suki. 

“Yes he is.” said Tenzin. “I saw him when I was on patrol.” 

“Yaogun’s successor?” asked Suki. “He must be young.” 

“He is.” said Tenzin. “I taught him airbending recently. Average height, dark hair, scar near his left eye, and an angry streak.” 

“Hold on,” said the other woman, “he’s the idiot who showed up on our island, looking for the Avatar!” 

Tenzin laughed. This had to be a joke, right? 

“She’s telling the truth.” said Suki. “A boy of that description visited our island a while ago. We suspected he was the Avatar when he airbended to get away from us, even though he was clearly a firebender. We didn’t know what happened to him after that.” 

“Well now he’s in Ba Sing Se, learning waterbending.” said Tenzin. “Why he’s here, I have no idea.” 

“He’s the only one who can defeat Fire Lord Ozai.” said Suki. 

“And there’s our problem.” said Tenzin. 

“What’s the problem?” asked the other woman. 

“The Avatar isn’t just any firebender. He goes by the name Lee, but his real name is Zuko. And he’s the son of Fire Lord Ozai. To save the world, we must convince him to defeat his own father.” 

##  Katara

The warrior pointed to a large tent. “He’s in there.” he said. 

Katara opened the tent flap. Several Water Tribe men were studying a map. She recognized Bato, her former neighbor, and Chief Hakoda. 

“Dad” shouted Katara and Sokka. 

Chief Hakoda turned around. “Sokka! Katara!” he cheered. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!” 

The two teenagers collided into the big man and they hugged. 

“Is everything alright in the South?” he asked. 

“Yeah.” said Katara. “I left to master waterbending.” 

“How’d you find me?” he asked. 

“Intelligence report.” said Sokka. “The Earth King’s worried about the Fire Nation.” 

“Wait, you saw the Earth King?” said Katara’s father. 

“Yeah.” she said. “It’s a long story. We also found the Avatar.” 

“You found the Avatar?” asked her father. 

Katara nodded. “Surprisingly. He’s in Ba Sing Se.” 

“I thought Yaogun was dead…” said Bato. 

“He is.” said Sokka. “The new Avatar is our age.” 

“If he’s from the Fire Nation, then why is he in Ba Sing Se?” asked the chief. 

“Beats me.” said Sokka. 

“Have you been to Ba Sing Se?” asked his father. 

“Yes.” said Katara. 

“In that case, help us make a plan.” he said. “You know the terrain better than we do.” 

The kids tried to help with the plan. Katara’s best advice was to avoid the desert at all costs, indicating where the desert was. She also mentioned the locations of various lakes, roads, and towns. The men thanked her and Sokka for their help. 

Later, her father was explaining a new weapon: the tangle mine. This was a mine made of seaweed, rope, and dead fish. The seaweed and rope would jam the ships’ propellers, while the fish stench would permeate the boat. He called it the “stink and sink” plan. Sokka laughed at that one. 

“You’re definitely your father’s son.” commented Bato. 

Suddenly, a scout ran toward them. “Four Fire Nation ships are coming!” he shouted. 

“Bato, Katara, get the mines loaded up. The rest of you men get ready for battle.” 

Bato and Katara left to finish the mines. It was a smelly job, but Katara tried to ignore the stink. 

“How’d you learn waterbending?” asked Bato. 

“The masters in the Northern Water Tribe taught me.” she said. “I was doing so well until the Fire Nation attacked.” 

“I heard about that.” he said. “Did they really try to steal the moon?” 

Katara nodded. “One of them did.” she said. “We managed to fix the problem, but for a short time, nobody could waterbend.” 

“That must’ve been scary.” said bato. 

“It was.” said Katara. “The night sky turned red and the ocean spirit was furious.” 

“At least it was night.” said Bato. “Firebenders get power from the sun.” 

“Firebenders get power from the sun.” Katara repeated. “Just like waterbenders get power from the moon. If you take away the moon, nobody can waterbend. That means if you take away the sun… nobody can firebend.” 

“You’re probably right.” said Bato. “But we can’t just take away the sun.” 

“No,” Katara said, “we can’t. But maybe we don’t have to.” 

“Listen, kid,” said Bato, “As much as I would love to defeat the Fire Nation, we just don’t have the manpower to do it. Maybe your father can make an alliance with the Earth King or something, but other than that…” 

“I think we’re onto something.” said Katara. 

* * *

For the next few days, Katara and Sokka stayed with the soldiers. Sokka was allowed to fight, but Katara wasn’t. Instead, she spent her days building tangle mines and repairing equipment. 

“I wish I could go into battle.” she said. 

“I know.” said her father. “But we can’t have you waterbending in front of the Fire Nation. They’ll know we have a waterbender.” 

He was right. That didn’t mean Katara could never fight, though. It just meant she would have to wait. 

After a few days, it was decided that they needed to talk to the Earth King. Katara and Sokka would go with their father to Ba Sing Se. Katara hopes he would be willing to speak to them again. 

“Do you have a plan?” asked Katara’s father. 

“Sort of.” said Katara. “Bato and I figured out the Fire Nation’s weakness.” 

“Which is?” he asked. 

“They can’t firebend if the sun’s out.” she said. “At least, not very well.” 

“So we wait until the sun’s not there anymore.” he said. “We’ll see what the Earth King has to say.” 


	10. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and his uncle pose as teamakers, but a relative sees through their ruse. Toph and Katara fight in the caves under the city. Katara tries to go home with her family, but things don’t exactly go to plan.

##  Zuko

“The Jasmine Dragon is open for business.” said Zuko’s uncle, posting an “OPEN” sign on the door. “Get ready to serve some tea.” 

The old man had decided to open his own tea shop in Ba Sing Se. Zuko helped him, though he had to devote quite a bit of time to waterbending. His uncle encouraged him to practice his skills in the back of the shop. “They’re gonna call me the teabender.” Zuko joked. 

Customers started arriving in the shop. His uncle was proud of himself, though he didn’t quite believe that it had really happened. 

“Follow your dreams, nephew.” he advised. “You never know what you can accomplish.” 

Zuko hugged him, then ran off to serve the customers. 

That evening, he was walking down the street when Zuko felt his hands being restrained by tight earth. “Oh crap.” he said. Somebody had handcuffed him while he wasn’t looking. He turned around; it was the Dai Li. “Why’d you do that?” he demanded. 

“Sir, you are being arrested.” said one man. 

“For what?” he asked. 

“We have reason to believe you are a threat to the people of Ba Sing Se.” another answered. 

“Lies. All I do is serve tea!” 

The Dai Li didn’t accept that. Instead, they dragged him to a cave somewhere and threw him inside. At first, he saw nothing but a blur of crystals and dirt. Then he heard a girl’s voice shouting his name. Wait… he knew that girl. 

“Katara?” he said. 

“Why do you keep following me?” she asked angrily. 

“I’m not.” he said. “I was arrested by the Dai Li.” 

“Why should I trust you?” she asked. “You’re the Fire Prince. Spreading war and hatred is in your blood. Why should I believe that being the Avatar makes you any different?”

“Because… I am different.” he said. “That’s why my father banished me.” 

“Oh, right.” she said. “I’m sorry, it’s just… whenever I imagined the face of the enemy, I saw your face.” 

Zuko turned and touched the scar on his eye. He still remembered the day he got it. His father challenged him to an Agni Kai- a fire duel- because he’d criticized a general’s plan. When Zuko refused, the Fire Lord had burned his eye and banished him. 

“It’s not that.” said Katara. 

“It’s okay.” he said. “For a long time, I thought this scar marked me as a banished prince, destined to hunt down the Avatar. But lately, I’ve realized that I’m so much more than that.” 

“Yes you are.” said Katara. “Suri knew that when she saw you in the doorway. That’s why she taught you when I refused.” 

The two teenagers looked at each other, but didn’t speak. 

“I see the other Avatars in my dreams.” said Zuko. “Since I rarely remember them, I didn’t notice. When I went to the Air Temple, I saw Aang in a dream. Then I realized I’d been seeing them all along.” 

“What did he look like?” asked Katara. 

Zuko tried his hardest to remember. “He was a kid.” he said. “Maybe twelve, but he already had his airbender tattoos. He was… playing, sliding down Appa’s tail, cracking jokes. Then my father showed up and the temple burst into flames.” 

“It’s strange to think of the Avatar using a flying bison as a slide.” said Katara. 

“Yeah.” said Zuko. “They’re usually so serious.” 

“Hey,” said Katara, “I have healing powers. Maybe I can heal your scar.” 

“It’s a scar.” he said. “It won’t heal.” 

Katara pulled out a tiny glass vial. “This is water from the Spirit Oasis.” she explained. “It has special properties. Maybe it’ll work.” 

Just then, the wall moved. Zuko saw somebody earthbending and worried it was the Dai Li. But no- it was just Toph and Zuko’s uncle. 

“Uncle!” he shouted. 

“Toph!” shouted Katara. 

Zuko ran toward his uncle and hugged him. He thought Katara and Toph were doing the same. “How do we get out?” he asked. 

“Same way we got in.” said Toph. 

“I have bad news.” said his uncle. “Azula’s in Ba Sing Se.” 

Azula was Zuko’s younger sister, but this was still bad news. Unlike her brother and uncle, she seemed to have no sense of morality whatsoever. There was only one reason she would be in Ba Sing Se, and that was to conquer it. 

“Who’s Azula?” asked Katara. 

“That’s what I said!” said Toph. 

“My sister.” said Zuko. “If she’s here, she’s here to conquer.” 

“Let’s get out of here.” said Katara. 

“I’m with Sweetness on this one.” said Toph. 

“Girls, go help Suri and Boomerang Boy.” said Zuko’s uncle. “I need to talk to my nephew.” 

“Boomerang Boy.” chuckled Toph. 

“I think he means Sokka.” said Katara. “Where is he?” 

“In the palace, telling the Earth King that the Dai Li captured you.” said the old man. 

“Does he really need to know that?” asked Zuko. 

“Since you’re the Avatar, the answer is yes.” said Toph. 

“Do they know I’m the Avatar?” he asked. 

“I dunno. See you later, Sparky.” 

Toph and Katara left the cave. Zuko turned to his uncle. “Why, Uncle?” he asked. 

“You’re not the boy you were.” said his uncle. “All your life, you were a Fire Nation Prince. Now, you are at the crossroads of destiny. It’s time for you to choose between helping your nation and saving the world. It’s time for you to choose good.” 

Just then, the crystals in the room shot up, trapping his uncle inside him. It was the Dai Li- led by Azula. 

“How did you find me?” he asked. 

She pointed to the men behind her. “Thank them.” she said. “I expected this treachery from Uncle, but you?” 

“Release him!” Zuko demanded. 

She didn’t. Instead, she tried to convince him to help her. If he did, he would have power, honor, his father’s love… everything he ever wanted. But his uncle was saying no, that wasn’t the right thing. He should turn his back on Azula and save Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation. 

“You’re free to choose.” said his sister as she walked away. 

But Zuko knew what she wanted.    
  


##  Toph

“So,” asked Katara, “what have you been doing lately?” 

“Well, for starters, my mom wasn’t actually in the city.” said Toph. “It was a trap. My old earthbending teacher and one of his cronies kidnapped me and locked me in a metal box. I was in there for quite a while before I got out.” 

“How’d you get out?” asked Katara. 

“Turns out I can bend metal.” said Toph. “It was a real pain in the butt- metal fragments just don’t give way as easily as dirt or clay does. But I got out and threw those two knuckleheads in their own cage.” 

Katara laughed. 

“Which is more funny,” asked Toph, “that or the stink and sink?” Toph had just heard about the Water Tribe Chief’s stinky bombs. 

“I’d say knuckleheads, but Sokka would say stink and sink.” answered Katara. 

“Well, that was just part one. After that I had to go back. So I talk some cabbage merchant into giving me a ride. He doesn’t wanna do it, so I had to… persuade him. Then I get to Ba Sing Se and your brother tells Suri and I that you’ve gone missing. Oh yeah, and Zuko’s uncle showed up to tell us that  _ he _ went missing. So we interrogated this dude- I think he was a Dai Li agent or something- and he tells us where you are. I went there with the old guy- his name’s Iroh. Your dad, brother, and Suri go off to tell the Earth King that his agents have the Avatar and a waterbender. Then we found you.” 

Katara laughed. “You’re a great storyteller, Toph.” she said. 

“Thank you.” 

“What about Kiyi? Where was she during all this?” 

“At a poetry reading for children.” said Toph. “She’s barely ten and she can write better than I can.” 

Katara cracked up. “Maybe you can’t write, but you would make one heck of a poet.” 

Toph wasn’t sure if that was a compliment, but she decided to pretend that it was. 

The two girls kept walking down the corridor. Toph remembered walking down to the caves with Iroh. She’d told him that she didn’t like accepting help from anyone. “You remind me of my nephew.” he’d said. “His life changed when a waterbending master told him he was the Avatar. Well, he says it was a waterbending master. He’s trying to discover who he is.” Then he’d said something else: “Do not resist help from those who care about you.” 

Suddenly, Toph heard angry footsteps. “Uh-oh.” she said. 

They were in a big, open room now; every sound echoed. She heard water running nearby; perhaps a creek flowed through the room. There was a light near the footsteps; it was coming towards her. Wait- that wasn’t light. It was fire. 

In a panic, Toph raised the ground to block the flame. Katara was waterbending somewhere to her right. Lacking a better idea, Toph earthbended chunks of the wall in the direction of whoever had just shot a flame at her. 

“Who are we even fighting?” she asked. 

“One of the Kyoshi Warriors.” said Katara. “But she can’t be, since she’s a firebender…” 

“So we’re fighting an imposter.” said Toph. 

“Pretty much.” said Katara. Toph heard a watery slap. 

Both girls kept fighting this unnamed entity. Whoever she was, she was good. Toph basically had to keep a barrier between the two at all times to avoid getting burned. Then she’d launch rocks from wherever she could get them. Even though she couldn’t see where she was throwing, she knew if she hit the firebender or not. If she missed, the rock would clammer onto the floor. If she hit hard enough, the firebender would stop for a second and wince. Then she would go back to fighting Toph. 

Then another player came into the arena. Toph wasn’t sure who it was, but it was definitely someone she’d met. Then the firebending began. Katara shouted, “Zuko, how could you do this?” So that’s who it was. Toph decided to leave Miss Crazyfire alone and help Katara. 

At some point, Katara and Toph just switched places. Toph tried to knock Zuko over with limited success. Zuko tried to burn her with equally limited success, though he seemed strangely hesitant. Then he moved and Toph saw a bright flash. “What happened?” she asked. 

“Zuko got hit!” shouted Katara. 

Since neither firebender was actively attacking them, Toph decided to make a run for it. And she would’ve, except that a bunch of other people came in. And they were all walking in synchrony with each other… 

“The Dai Li!” she shouted. “We’re trapped!” 

Then somebody else came in and started firebending. “You two go.” he said. It was Iroh. “I’ll hold them off as long as I can.” 

Katara grabbed Toph’s hand and led her toward the… water. 

“I can’t swim!” shouted Toph. 

“You won’t have to.” said Katara. “Hold on tight.” 

Both girls jumped into the cold water. Toph clutched her friend’s waist. She didn’t want to drown Katara, but there was no other option. Then Katara bent the water they were in and they went up. 

“Please tell me there’s a hole up there.” said Toph. 

“That’s what you’re here for.” she said. 

“How am I supposed to earthbend if I’m clutching you?” she asked. 

“Get on my back and wrap your legs around.” said Katara. 

Toph was scared, but she did that. She even managed to do it without accidentally hitting Katara. She gripped Katara with both legs and her right arm, sticking her dominant hand above her head to feel for the ceiling. 

There it was. Toph somehow managed to earthbend using only her head and left arm while still clinging to Katara. It was almost as hard as metalbending, but thankfully quicker. Once the ceiling had been moved, Katara created a jet of water and the two girls bursted out. They landed soaking wet on the ground. 

Toph covered the hole. 

“That was intense.” said Katara. 

“You’re telling me.” said Toph. “Now let’s go find the others.” 

The only problem was that they didn’t even know where they were. Both girls had gotten disoriented in the cave and it was dark. Even so, they managed to find Ba Sing Se. But they didn’t need to go into the palace. 

“Katara!” shouted Sokka. 

Toph turned around and went toward the noise. Sure enough, Sokka and his father were right there, along with the Earth King and his pet. “Suri went home.” explained Sokka. “She got us out of jail, though.” 

“Wait, you were in jail?” asked Katara. 

“Yeah,” said the chief, “the Dai Li arrested all four of us. Woman got us out using water from a leaky pipe, and she still won’t tell me where she learned how to do it.” 

“She’s been teaching Zuko waterbending.” said Toph. “I wouldn’t be surprised.” 

Since the palace had been taken over, the group went to Suri’s house. She was glad to see Katara, but distraught at the state of Ba Sing Se. Luckily, she knew a guy who owned an ostrich-horse cart and was willing to let them use it. All of them piled into the cart except the bear. It was kinda crowded with eight people riding, but it was still faster than walking. The owner drove the cart out and away from the city. 

“The Earth Kingdom has fallen.” said the Earth King gravely. 

##  Katara

“Good news” shouted Sokka. “Dad and I got a ship!” 

“Yay!” said Katara. “Let’s get on.” 

“I’ll stay here.” said the Earth King. “I’ve decided I’m going to travel the kingdom with Bosco.” 

“Bye.” said Toph. “See ya later.” 

“Goodbye.” said the Earth King. 

Once everyone bid him farewell, the Earth King and his bear left. The king turned around one last time before disappearing into the horizon. 

“I’m gonna miss that guy.” said Sokka. 

“Me too.” said Toph. 

“Okay, everyone,” said Katara’s father, “Let’s get on this ship.” 

All six people got on the ship. It was actually a captured Fire Nation ship, which meant the Fire Nation wouldn’t attack them. If they encountered anyone else, then hopefully the presence of two waterbenders and an earthbender would ward off any hostility. 

“So where do we go now?” asked Katara’s father. 

“I say we go home!” said Sokka. 

“I agree with Sokka.” said Katara. Traveling the world had been interesting, but she missed her home, her neighbors, and Gran-gran. Now that she had her father back, it seemed perfect. 

“I wanna go somewhere where nobody wants to kill me.” said Toph. 

“Me too.” said Kiyi. 

“Nobody will kill you in the Southern Water Tribe.” said Katara’s father. “Suri, you and Kiyi will be fine there. Toph, don’t you have a family?” 

“She hates her parents.” said Kiyi. 

“I do not!” insisted Toph. “They just… don’t accept me for who I am.” 

“You can come with us.” said Katara. “It’s cold and snowy back home, but at least you’ll be free.” 

“Is there any earth I can bend?” asked Toph. 

“Yes.” said Katara. “If you can find it under all the snow.” 

“That’s good enough for me.” she said. 

“Then it’s settled.” said Katara’s father. “We’ll pick up the other soldiers and go back to the South Pole.” 

“No.” said Suri. “We’re not doing that.” 

“Why not?” asked Katara. “The whole reason we left was for me to master waterbending, and I’ve already done that.” 

“Now that the Earth Kingdom’s controlled by the Fire Nation, we shouldn’t stick around.” said Sokka. “Besides, Katara and I finally found our dad.” 

“We’re not sticking around, either.” said Suri. “We’re going to the Fire Islands.” 

Everyone seemed surprised by this statement. “Why?” they asked. 

“Mom, we can’t go to the Fire Islands.” said Kiyi. “They’ll kill you! You said it yourself!” 

“Believe me, Kiyi, I know the risks.” said her mother. “And I know how hard it was for us when your father died. But we have to go there. The Avatar needs us.” 

“The Avatar  _ betrayed _ us.” said Katara angrily. “Why should we go after him?” 

“Because he’s the Avatar.” said Suri. “More importantly, he’s the only person who can end this war.” 

“Are you saying that because it’s true or because he’s your son?” asked Sokka. 

“Wait, the Avatar’s your  _ son _ ?” asked Katara’s father. 

“Technically, yes.” said Suri. “But that’s not why I said it. I said what I said because it’s true. We all know that the war doesn’t end until Fire Lord Ozai is gone. Yeah, sure, any one of us could kill him- well, except Kiyi- but none of us can replace him. Only Zuko can do that. And he sure as hell isn’t going to do it alone.” 

“When did Zuko get involved in this?” asked the chief. 

“Oh, right, we never told you.” said Katara. “He’s the Avatar.” 

Her father’s eyebrows shot up. “Learn something every day.” he said. 

“How do you even know who Zuko is?” asked Kiyi. 

“We heard about him from the locals in the Earth Kingdom.” 

“Well, I guess I  _ could  _ teach him earthbending.” said Toph. “I’ve always wanted to do that, but I would never have been allowed to before.” 

“He did stand in front of lightning to protect me.” said Katara. “But then again, he also betrayed us.” 

“Wait, there was lightning?” asked Sokka. 

Katara nodded. 

“I’ve always wanted a brother.” said Kiyi. 

“It appears that we have a difference of opinion.” said Katara’s father. “Either way, we need to go to Chameleon Bay to get the troops. We’ll see what they think.” 

The next morning, Suri and Kiyi had disappeared. Katara was upset by this and told her father. 

“They’re probably going to the Fire Islands.” he said. “Suri said the prince needed her.” 

“I know, I heard her say that.” said Katara. “But doesn’t she know that  _ we _ need her? How could she just leave us behind?” She could feel a tear coming. 

“You’re not just talking about Suri, aren’t you?” asked her father. 

“How could  _ you _ leave us behind?” asked Katara, starting to cry. “I know why you did it, and I know we had Gran-gran and the others, but it was so hard.” She was crying so hard that she could barely speak. 

Her father wrapped his arms around her. “I know.” he said. “Listen- you and your brother are my entire world. Every day I was gone, I thought of you. Every night, when you weren’t there, I would miss you so much it would ache.” 

“I… I didn’t know that.” said Katara weakly. She kept crying. She felt her father’s strong, yet gentle arms on her back. She could feel the warmth of his chest. She could smell his clothes. Whatever had happened before, he was here now. And he was here to stay. 

“We’re getting close to Chameleon Bay.” said her father. “Maybe Bato and the other ment will help us find her.” 

“It’s been years.” said Katara. “They probably just wanna go home.” 

Her father chuckled. “Don't we all?” he asked. “The fact is that the woman who saved my life may be in danger herself now. We can use this boat to search for her. Besides,” he said, “she may be the key to keeping the Avatar out of Ozai’s hands.” 

“That’s gonna be hard.” said Katara. “Ozai’s his father.” 

Katara’s own father was confused. “You’re telling me that the Fire Lord and a random waterbender had a child who became the Avatar?” 

“Something like that.” said Katara. “It’s kind of confusing.” 

The other Water Tribe men were willing to search for Suri. For a week, the ship went closer and closer to the Fire Islands. On the way, they saw a few Fire Nation ships, but all passed by without bothering them. Well, all except one. 

This ship stopped next to theirs. Katara’s father and Bato put on helmets and talked to the commander while the kids hid. Katara could hear their conversation. The commander told the men that their ship was going in the wrong direction. Her father made up a very convincing lie about delivering cargo. The commander then complained about the lack of communication. 

The next thing Katara knew, Toph was shouting, “They know!” Katara immediately leaped up and threw a giant wave at the ship. Everyone else soon joined her. Suri helped Katara create a massive wave, Kiyi made a giant fog cloud, Bato and Sokka threw projectiles, and Toph earthbended the hunk of coal she’d found in the hull. 

“Could things get any worse?” asked Sokka. 

Just then, a massive serpent roared behind Katara. She immediately turned around. 

“The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn’t it” asked Sokka. 

“You make it too easy!” said Toph. 

Luckily, a jet of water was enough to dissuade the serpent. When it attacked the other ship, Sokka thanked the universe while the waterbenders moved the ship away. 

Eventually, the group made it to the Fire Islands. They searched and searched, but they couldn’t find Suri. And having a large ship was not exactly conducive to their search. Katara, Sokka, and Toph had to make a choice: either go home with the soldiers or leave them and search the Fire Islands. After much deliberation, they chose the latter. 

“Bye, Dad.” said Katara. 

Her father hugged her. “I’ll come back for you.” he said. “I promise.” 


	11. In the Land of Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko returns to his old home, but feels conflicted about the means he used to get there. Toph reunites with Kiyi and they hang out with Fire Nation kids. Katara disguises herself in an attempt to help a struggling river village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a couple blanks in it. If anyone wants to fill in the blanks, I’m open to suggestions.

## Zuko

Zuko was lucky to be alive. 

He shouldn’t have tried to redirect Azula’s lightning bolt, but he didn’t want it to hit Katara. So he stood in front of her and tried to redirect it. He was successful, but got struck in the left shoulder. A few inches to the right and he’d be dead. He really should’ve just airbended the lightning away. 

Someone was coming over. It was Mai, a childhood friend of his. She stood on his right. “Are you cold?” she asked. A fair question; it was night. 

“I betrayed my uncle.” he said. “I betrayed my uncle so I could gain my father’s favor. After all the time we spent together… I want to go back, but I’ll have to pretend to be the way I was when I left, and I’m just… not that person anymore.” 

“I asked if you were cold; I didn’t ask for your whole life story.” said Mai in her usual flat voice. 

“It’s just… it’s been hard lately.” said Zuko. He was debating whether or not to tell her that he was the Avatar. No; best to keep it a secret for now. 

Mai responded by hugging him. Zuko wasn’t expecting that and it made his whole body tingle, but he didn’t mind. Well, not until she rested her head on his injured shoulder. 

“Ow!” he cried. “Not that one!” 

“Sorry.” she said, lifting her head and resting it on his other shoulder. His left shoulder didn’t hurt so much anymore. In fact, it didn’t hurt at all. 

The next day was a celebration of his and Azula’s return. Zuko heard two old ladies ramble about his sister’s accomplishments. She had overthrown the leader of the Dai Li and ordered the agents to let the Fire Nation army in. Zuko didn’t need to hear this; he had seen it all himself. Then Azula walked onto the balcony and the crowd cheered. 

It was Zuko’s turn. Wearing his ceremonial robe and hair thing, he stepped on the balcony. Everyone cheered for their long-lost prince. 

Zuko couldn’t help but wonder: _would they cheer for me if they knew who I really was? Would they cheer for Avatar Zuko?_

Later, Zuko went to see his father in the throne room. As expected, his father was sitting in his throne behind a wall of fire. Zuko walked toward him and kneeled. 

“I’m back, father.” he said. 

His father looked at him for the first time in three years. “I’m proud of you, Zuko.” he said. “When your loyalty was threatened by your treacherous uncle, you did the right thing. That said, where is the Avatar?” 

_Shit_ , thought Zuko, _I’ll have to lie_. “I asked that question for three years.” he said. “Everyone said that the Avatar is in the Fire Nation.” That part was true. He wasn’t lying so much as hiding the truth. 

His father didn’t like that answer. “I have searched the Fire Nation!” he shouted. “Azula said you knew where the Avatar was.” 

“The Avatar is on… ______ Island.” Zuko lied. “I haven’t seen him.” 

“‘Him’.” notes the Fire Lord. “So the Avatar is a boy.” 

“I’m not sure.” Another lie. “I just know that the Avatar is a young but great firebender.” The “great” part was a slight exaggeration, but it might work. 

“Very well.” said his father. “Thank you.” 

Zuko left the room with a question he couldn’t ask. _Why did Azula tell him that I’d found the Avatar?_ It made no sense; she should’ve said that _she_ found the Avatar. There was something going on that Zuko was unaware of. 

There was an even bigger problem gnawing in the back of Zuko’s mind; his uncle. The man was in prison and probably hated Zuko for betraying him. Zuko needed to see him, whether his uncle wanted it or not. 

He threw on a red cloak and hood and went to the prison. There, he harassed a random guard and made him watch for people. If anyone knew Zuko was visiting his uncle, they’d think he was plotting something. In reality, he just had no idea what to do. His father finally allowed him into the Fire Nation, but he hadn’t regained his honor. More importantly, he didn’t know whether to finish his Avatar training. 

“Uncle,” he asked, “I need your help. Azula told my father that I know where the Avatar is. I mean, she’s right, but why would she say that? I can’t finish my Avatar training out here without everyone knowing. My father’s proud of me, but it’s not what I hoped. Azula threw lightning at Katara in Ba Sing Se. I blocked it and nearly died. I feel really bad lying to Mai, but I can’t tell her the truth. Uncle, are you even listening to me?” 

His uncle turned toward the wall and did not speak. Then Zuko remembered what happened at Ba Sing Se. Well, actually, he’d never forgotten it, but there were so many problems swirling around in his head right now… 

“I’m sorry, Uncle.” he said. “I shouldn’t have betrayed you in Ba Sing Se.” 

The old man said nothing. 

“Forget it.” said Zuko angrily. “You’re a crazy old man! Waste away in this cell for all I care!” He stood up and stormed out of the prison. 

The next day, Mai offered to take him on a beach picnic. Zuko accepted, though he felt a bit awkward being alone with her. She brought food and a blanket, which they spread out on the sand. Zuko tried to talk to Mai, but he was bad at talking to girls. Honestly, he wasn’t all that great at talking to guys, either. And he definitely didn’t trust people easily. 

Zuko tried to relax and actually enjoy the picnic. The food was great- Mai had brought some of his favorite dishes. He bit into a _________; the taste reminded him of Ember Island. God, he missed that place. 

Mai wrapped her hand around his back. He felt that tingling again; it was almost like tiny insects were crawling on his back. He watched Mai warily, but the truth was that it felt… kind of good. 

Mai leaned over and kissed Zuko. Zuko was startled and wanted to pull back, but he found himself kissing her instead. He’d never actually kissed a girl before. When he was in the Earth Kingdom, a girl named Jin got close, but Zuko had pulled away and given her a tea coupon. His mouth was getting hot; he had to stop before he burned her face off. 

He heard his sister coming. “Hello.” she said chillingly, “Mai, Ty Lee needs help with a knot in her braid.” Ty Lee was a friend of theirs and an acrobat. 

“Sounds serious.” said Mai in her usual flat voice. She got up and left to fix that issue. 

“I heard you visited your dear uncle last night.” said Azula once Mai was gone. 

Zuko panicked “Did the guard tell you?” he asked. 

“He’s _your_ uncle, too.” said Zuko. “And why do you care?” 

“Well, it might look like you’re plotting with him.” she said. 

Zuko already knew that. “It’s not like that.” he said defensively. “I just needed advice from him, that’s all.” 

“Advice on what? How to overthrow your father?” she asked mockingly. 

“No!” he snapped. “Advice on, uh… guy problems.” He was a terrible liar, but hopefully the lie would deter Azula. 

“Ah, I see.” she said. “Why don’t you ask Father?” 

“Like he’s gonna help me with anything.” said Zuko. 

“Oh well.” said Azula noncommittally. “Good luck with your _guy problems_.” She walked away, leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts. 

## Toph

“I hate being on a boat.” complained Toph. “I can barely see anything.” 

“You can't see anything on land, either.” said Sokka. “Besides, there’s nothing _to_ see. Everywhere you look, it’s just ocean and ocean and ocean and-“ 

“Land!” shouted Katara. “I see land!” 

“Go toward it!” shouted Toph. 

The little boat lurched forward. Evidently Katara was carrying the boat on a huge wave. Judging from the position of the sun, they were going southwest. Eventually, Toph saw a large shape ahead of them. 

“We’re almost there!” she shouted. 

“I thought you couldn’t see anything.” said Katara. 

“I can see something.” she said. “I’m not _that_ blind.” 

Toph felt the boat drag against earth and stop. “Everybody off.” said Katara. Toph practically leaped off the boat. It was so good to feel the ground under her feet again. 

“What do we do now?” asked Toph. 

“Get a snack.” Sokka said. “I’m hungry.” 

Katara somehow managed to catch a couple fish while Sokka and Toph made a fire. While they ate, they discussed where and how to look for Suri. Toph wanted to earthbend so Suri could find them, but Katara had a different idea. 

“Let’s disguise ourselves as Fire Nation citizens and search the coast.” she said. “That way, we can search without attracting anyone else’s attention.” 

The group decided that was a better idea and set off in search of disguises. Sokka eventually found someone’s laundry in a yard and notified the girls. 

“I call the silk robe!” declared Katara. 

“I call the suit!” shouted an equally enthusiastic Sokka. 

Toph couldn’t actually see any of the clothes, so she just ran after the siblings and went up and down the lines, feeling the clothes on them. She picked a sleeveless shirt, skirt, and loose pants that were the right size. Since they were near a pair of shoes and wrist wraps, she grabbed those too. She then followed Katara and Sokka back to the campsite, where everyone tried their clothes on. 

“How do I look?” asked Katara. 

“Your necklace.” said Sokka. 

“Right.” said his sister. “It’s pretty obviously Water Tribe, Isn’t it?” 

Toph has heard about the necklace. Apparently it had belonged to Katara’s late mother and was special to her. 

“How do I look?” asked Toph. 

“Good.” said Katara. “But most people here wear shoes.” 

“If I do that, then I can’t see as well.” said Toph. Then she thought of a solution. She picked up her shoes and tore the soles off of them- a surprisingly difficult task. “Sorry, shoes.” she said. She threw the soles aside and slipped the tops on. They covered her feet and were quite comfortable. Plus, her earth sensing was unhindered. 

“Who’s ready to look for Suri and Kiyi?” asked Sokka. 

“I am!” said Katara. 

“So am I.” said Toph. “Though I’m not very good at looking for things.” 

“Just give us a holler if you hear their voices.” said Sokka. “Or any familiar voice, really.” 

The three searched up and down the coast, but they found nothing except shells and bits of scrap metal. Therefore, they went to a nearby town. As far as Toph could tell, this town was similar to the ones in the Earth Kingdom. Carts and animals walked by, people talked, and merchants tried to convince people to sell things. The main differences were the lack of earthbending and the smell of roasted and raw fish. But no sign of Suri. 

After two days of fruitless searching, they went to another island. The first day of searching this island went just as badly, though Toph managed to get her hands on a tasty fish. She didn’t know if the merchant actually believed her metalbent scrap was a real coin or just took it because he thought it was usable, but she didn’t care. 

“Toph, you shouldn’t be stealing money.” scolded Katara. 

“I didn’t steal it.” said Toph. “I metalbent the scraps on the beach into the shape of Fire Nation coins.” 

“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, too.” said Katara. 

“It’s not illegal if there’s no law against it.” said Toph. “And why would there be a law against using metalbent coins if nobody can do it?” 

“You little snow rat.” said Katara. Toph shrugged. 

Eventually, they found a group of kids playing hide-and-seek. Or rather, the local variant, which seemed to involve minor explosions. Then Toph heard a familiar little voice. 

“Kiyi!” she shouted. 

“Toph!” shouted Kiyi. She ran over and collided into a hug. Toph embraced the smaller girl for the first time in a while. “How’d you get here?” asked Kiyi. 

“On a tiny boat.” said Toph. “We’ve been looking for you for days.” 

“Hey, Bouncyfoot,” called another girl, “who’s that?” 

“That’s a friend of mine from the colonies.” said Kiyi. “Her name’s Toph.” 

“Hi.” Toph waved in the direction of the girl’s voice. 

“Hi.” said the girl. “I’m Onji. Kiyi and I were playing Hide and Explode. You wanna play?” 

“Sure,” said Toph, “but I don’t know the rules.” 

By now, Katara and Sokka were right behind Toph. “Hi Kiyi,” said Katara, “where’s your mom?” 

“She’s at home.” said Kiyi. “I can take you there after the game.” 

“What game?” asked Sokka. 

“We were playing Hide and Explode.” said Onji. “Wanna play? I can tell you the rules.” 

“Sure.” said Sokka. Katara opted to sit on the side and watch things happen. 

Onji came closer to them. “Oh.” she said. “I didn’t realize you were blind, Toph. You can’t see where we are.” 

_She must’ve seen my eyes_. “It’s okay.” said Toph. “I can still play; just tell me the rules.” 

It turned out that Hide and Explode was basically Hide and Seek, except that the seeker was a firebender and threw fire wherever he or she thought the hiders were. Onji was the seeker; Toph selected a large rock as her hiding place. It was true that she was blind, but she could feel Onji’s footsteps on the ground. Toph had played Hide and Seek with earthbenders before; this couldn’t possibly be more chaotic than that, right? 

Wrong. Toph learned that the hard way when she coughed. A blast of fire hit her rock. Toph resisted the urge to earthbend the rock or the ground below her feet. Since neither the fire nor the ash actually touched Toph, she could stay put. She ended up being one of the last kids Onji found. 

“Told you I could play.” said Toph. 

After the game, Kiyi took Katara, Sokka, and Toph to her home- which turned out to be a cave. Suri was, in fact, there. Toph could smell something delicious being cooked. 

“Hi!” Suri exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re here, but- why?” 

“We didn’t want you getting killed.” said Sokka. “That’s why.” 

“Oh, that’s… very sweet of you.” she said. “Kiyi and I are fine. This is actually the island I grew up on. My parents don’t live in my old house anymore, so a cave was the next best thing.” Toph heard water. 

“Making soup?” she asked. 

“Yup.” said Suri. “I hope you like it.” 

Everyone sat on the floor and ate and talked. Suri and Kiyi had actually been living in the cave for several days. They intended to stay put for a while. Kiyi had somehow been enrolled in a Fire Nation school, which is where she met Onji. Toph, Katara, and Sokka told the story of what had happened to them. 

“So,” said Sokka, “how are you going to find the angry jerk? No offense.” 

“He’s not a jerk!” protested Kiyi. “He’s my brother!” 

“Quiet, Kiyi.” said Suri. “The royal family lives on Capital Island. I know how to get there, but I can’t go anywhere near the palace- the Fire Lord will recognize me. I was hoping he’d go away and leave Zuko alone at the palace or something.” 

“Why would he do that?” asked Toph. “He’s already conquered Ba Sing Se.” 

“It was a slim chance.” she admitted. “Ozai rarely leaves the Capital unless there’s a very important battle or he’s on vacation. And he doesn’t take many vacations.” 

“How do you know all this?” asked Sokka. 

“I was married to him at one point.” she answered. 

“YOU _MARRIED_ HIM?” exclaimed all four kids simultaneously. 

“Yeah.” said Suri. “He was trying to marry Ursa, but she didn’t want that, so I offered to switch places with her.” 

“Why?” asked Kiyi. 

“So she could live the life she wanted.” said Suri. “And so I could, uh, live the life I wanted.” 

Sokka snickered. 

After some time, Kiyi spoke up. “Mom?” she said. 

“Yes, sweetie?” asked Suri. 

“Can we have a dance party with the kids at school?” 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” said Suri. “We’re in a vulnerable position right now, and inviting a bunch of Fire Nation children over could-“

“But they don’t know how to dance!” argued Kiyi. 

“They don’t know how to *dance*?” asked Katara. “Even Sokka knows how to dance!” 

“Hey!” protested Sokka. 

“It’s true!” insisted Kiyi. “I was dancing in music class and the teacher thought something was wrong with my legs. That’s why Onji calls me Bouncyfoot.” 

“Firebenders don’t dance?” asked Toph. She’d seen water bending and earthbending dances, so she’d assumed every bending type had its own dances. 

“They used to.” said Suri. “My mother and my father used to dance in the kitchen. Eventually, I could tell the fire dances from the water ones.” 

“I wouldn’t mind a dance party myself.” said Sokka. 

It took some convincing, but Suri agreed to let them hold a dance party- on the condition that they wore Fire Nation clothes and didn't bend while the guests were there. Those were acceptable terms. 

The party required some preparation. Toph used earthbending to create tables and a makeshift stage, Suri made food, Katara and Kiyi cleaned the floor, and Sokka hid their non-Fire Nation stuff. Then Toph felt footsteps. 

“They’re coming! Everybody stop bending!” she announced. 

Sure enough, the cave was soon filled with kids. A group of kids went up the stage and started playing music. But Toph didn’t feel any dancing. 

“Come on, guys.” she said. “It’s safe here; you can dance.” 

“No we can’t.” said a boy. 

Toph realized that Kiyi had been serious about the no-dancing thing. “Suri!” she shouted. “Show them how to dance.” 

Suri stood next to Toph. “I’ll need a dance partner.” she said. 

“I only know earth dances.” said Toph. 

“That’s fine.” said Suri. “Just grab my hands and do exactly what I do.” 

This turned out to be doable. Toph used the positions of Suri’s hands and feet to figure out where her own limbs should go. If she was doing it wrong, Suri told her what she should be doing. 

“Hey, I wanna try!” said Kiyi. She begged Sokka to dance with her. Sokka agreed, though Toph wasn’t sure how successful they were. 

She and Suri definitely succeeded at something. Soon, the floor was covered with dozens of dancing feet. Toph let go of Suri and started dancing on her own. Eventually, she got tired of Suri’s Fire dance and resorted to her old earthbending-themed dances. Nobody said a word about the change in style. She stopped to have a snack. The food was kind of spicy, but delicious. 

But the festivities didn’t last. Some showed up at the cave, prematurely ending the party. 

“Someone’s coming!” warmed Toph. Everyone stopped dancing. Suri ran out the secret escape. 

“Ah.” said a gruff Fire Nation voice. “An illicit gathering in a cave. Who started this?” 

Silence. Not wanting to incriminate Kiyi, Toph shrugged. 

“Well that’s useless.” said another voice. “All of you get detention tomorrow.” 

“I don’t go to school.” said Toph. “I’m blind.” 

“Detention for everyone except you, then.” he said. “Go home and tell your parents what shameful thing you’ve done.” 

The kids started filing out of the cave. Not wanting to get in trouble, Toph went with them. She, Katara, Sokka, Kiyi, and Onji ended up on a beach. 

“What happened?” asked Toph. 

“Everyone pointed to a random kid and nobody pointed to Kiyi.” said Onji. “So they had no idea who was running it.” 

Toph laughed. 

“Thanks for not telling on me.” said Kiyi. 

“Thanks for showing me how to dance.” said Onji. 

“You’re welcome.” said Kiyi. 

The five kids joined in a group hug, said goodbye, and went home. 

## Katara

“Hey Sokka,” asked Toph, “when are you gonna get a fish?” 

“I dunno.” said Sokka. “Normally I’d get one by now, because my fishing skills are off the hook.” 

“It would be real nice if they were _on_ the hook.” said Toph. 

“The river’s very polluted.” said Katara. “That must be why we haven’t had any luck.” 

Katara couldn’t get a fish, and she’d tried. Sokka couldn’t get a fish. Suri couldn’t get anything more useful than a clam shell. The lack of fish made getting enough food difficult. Katara has considered leaving, but Suri refused to do that and Katara didn’t want to leave her alone in such a dangerous place. So they just had to try to survive here. 

“Let’s see if it’s better down the river.” said Suri. 

Things were no better down the river. A whole village of starving people could attest to that. The group asked a man named Doc for a ride. He got them across fast enough that Katara wasn’t tempted to use waterbending. Then again, she’d be hard-pressed to bend water that was this dirty. 

“We should really help the villagers.” said Katara. She hated seeing people suffer, and she hated not helping them even more. 

“We can barely feed ourselves!” protested Sokka. “How can we possibly feed an entire village?” 

“As much as I applaud your desire to help, I have to agree with Sokka.” said Suri. 

“But Mom,” complained Kiyi, “Katara’s right!” 

“I know she is,” said Suri, “but so is Sokka.” 

“Let’s see if anyone’s selling food.” said Toph. “I’m hungry.” 

They found Doc in a market stand, selling fish. 

“Hi, Doc.” said Kiyi. 

“Doc?” said the man. “I’m Shu, Doc’s brother. Would you like some fish?” 

Katara figured they were identical twins wearing the same clothes. 

“Yes, actually.” she said. “What do you have?” 

Shu pulled out a box of disgusting fish and clams. The smell alone was nearly enough to make Katara vomit. Suri looked equally disgusted, but she bought some fish anyway. 

A little boy came up to Katara. “Excuse me,” he said timidly, “do you have any food?” 

Katara gave him one of the disgusting fish. “I wish I could do more.” she said. The boy took the fish, thanked her, and ran off. 

That night, Katara couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about the struggling villagers. So she got up and searched for food. It took a while, but she found some food and put it in the villagers’ houses. Then she went to the cave to try and catch some sleep. 

The next morning, the villagers were much more cheerful. Shu explained that a spirit named “the Painted Lady” came to the village at night and gave them food. Then Kiyi noticed a group of sick people. 

“Why do you have so many sick people?” she asked. 

“We’re not sure.” said Shu. “All we know is that we don’t have any medicine for them. It all goes to the army.” 

“That’s awful.” said Katara. 

“It is.” said Suri. “What’s for sale today?” 

Shu dug around his supplies. “Do you want the one-headed fish or the two-headed fish?” he asked, holding one in each hand. 

Katara found both equally repulsive, but Sokka asked for the two-headed fish. “You get more for your money!” he explained. 

That night, Katara knew what to do. She’d seen a figure of the Painted Lady in the village, so she disguised herself as the spirit. Then she went to the village and healed all the sick people she could find. Her friends got injured often enough that she was pretty good at healing. She didn’t even wake anyone up in the process. Well, no one except for a little boy who said, “Thank you, Painted Lady.” 

_You’re welcome_ , Katara thought as she disappeared into a cloud of her own mist. 

The next day, one of the villagers mentioned the Painted Lady again, saying how helpful she was. 

“If she really wanted to help, she’d destroy the factory.” said Sokka. He then imitated a spirit and made ghostly noises. 

“That’s not how spirit magic works!” said Toph. “It’s more like…” she then stomped her feet and made whooshing noises. “At least, that’s how it is in my dreams.” 

“You dream?” asked Sokka. Toph slapped her face with her hand. 

That night, Katara put her Painted Lady disguise on again. As she was leaving, she heard little feet coming toward her. Kiyi. Katara sped away as fast as she could, but Kiyi was fast, too. Eventually, the girl caught up to her. “Hi, Painted Lady.” she said. “You’re very pretty.” 

“Thank you.” said Katara in a funny voice. 

“Can I go with you?” asked the girl. “I’ve always wanted to talk to a spirit.” 

“Not now.” said Katara. “I really must be going.” 

“Okay.” said Kiyi. 

Katara turned and rushed toward the water. Unfortunately, Kiyi followed her. Before she knew it, Katara’s hat was knocked off by a jet of water, revealing her face. And it was polluted river water, too. 

“Katara?” asked Kiyi. 

“Yes.” said Katara in her normal voice. 

“ _You’re_ the Painted Lady?” asked Kiyi. 

“Well, no, but… yes.” said Katara. 

“That’s confusing.” said Kiyi. “Where are you going?” 

“I was going to destroy the factory.” said Katara. 

“Can I help?” asked an eager Kiyi. “I can waterbend. I’m not as good as you or Mom, but I can do this.” Kiyi pulled water from the river and made it into a dirty, stinky ice ring about a foot wide. 

“Impressive.” said Katara. “Though the smell is rather repulsive. You know what, you can come with me, but be careful and don’t tell anyone.” 

“Will do.” said Kiyi eagerly. 

The two girls snuck into the factory and found the water inside it. Katara figured out how to jam the engines by freezing the water inside. Kiyi shoved water into the fires to put them out. Within hours, the whole factory was nonfunctional. 

“We did it!” cheered Kiyi. 

“Shh!” said Katara. “We don’t want anyone to hear us.” 

“Oh, right.” said Kiyi quietly. 

They tried to enter the cave without raising suspicion, but that quickly failed. Sokka and Suri saw them and asked what they were doing. 

“Taking a walk.” said Katara. 

“Oh, really?” asked Sokka. “Then what’s _this_?” He shook Katara’s sleeping bag, revealing the grass stuffed inside. 

“Uh… grass?” said Kiyi. 

Sokka ignored her. “Katara, what were you doing?” 

“I was just helping the villagers.” she explained. 

“By giving them our food!” yelled Sokka. “Now we don’t have any!” 

“And you can’t eat the grass.” said Toph. “Believe me on that one.” 

Katara gave her a _what the heck, Toph?_ look, but of course Toph couldn’t see it. 

“We can get food.” said Katara. “They can’t. And I will _never_ turn my back on people who need me.” 

Suddenly, they heard a mechanical noise from the river. Everyone ran to look. 

“Soldiers.” said Suri. 

“Katara, what did you do?” asked Sokka. 

“I kind of… destroyed the factory.” said Katara. 

“I kind of helped.” said Kiyi. 

“Kiyi… I don’t know whether to praise you or scold you.” said Suri. 

Sokka chose the latter. “What were you _thinking_?” he yelled. “Now they’re going to blame the villagers!” 

“It was your idea!” Katara retorted. 

“I was joking!” said Sokka. “I also said to use spirit magic and make funny noises!” 

“Stop.” said Suri. “What’s done is done. The only thing we need to talk about now is what to do about the soldiers.” 

“I’m going down there to stop them.” said Katara. 

“I’m going with you.” said Sokka. 

“Really?” asked Katara. Wasn’t he just yelling at her for helping the villagers? 

“Yes.” he said. “You need help, and I will never turn my back on you.” 

Katara smiled. “Thanks, Sokka.” she said. 

“I’ll go with you.” said Toph. “I kinda feel like kicking some Fire Nation butt right now.” 

Katara threw on her Painted Lady disguise and went to a cave near the village. 

“ _You’re_ the Painted Lady?” asked Sokka incredulously. 

“It’s complicated.” said Katara. 

Toph and Sokka made creepy sound effects to scare the soldiers while Katara went to the village in a cloud of mist. Suri followed her in case Katara needed a second waterbender. 

First, Katara knocked the soldiers over with a giant wave before they could even see her clearly. Then Suri created mist below her, causing her to float. 

“Leave this village alone!” she demanded. 

When the soldiers tried to escape, she overturned their motorboats with giant waves. Then the villagers thanked her and cheered. As much as Katara appreciated that, she needed to leave before they figured out who she was. 

“Sorry for making you hide in polluted water.” said Katara. 

“It’s fine.” said Suri. “We saved the villagers. Besides, I can just bend and wash it out.” 

“Thanks.” said Katara. 

“I’m still disappointed that you destroyed the factory.” she said. 

“It was polluting the river!” Katara defended. 

“I am aware of that.” said Suri. “But you endangered an entire village, not to mention yourself and Kiyi, in the process of destroying it.” 

“Kiyi volunteered.” said Katara. 

“Neither of you should’ve been doing it in the first place. I’ll talk to Kiyi later. You, on the other hand… did you not realize that the soldiers would blame the villagers and kill them?” 

“No. said Katara in shame. “I guess I didn’t.” 

“They were lucky that we could stop the soldiers.” said Suri. “Why did you think it was okay to bring Kiyi along, anyway? Didn’t it occur to you that I might not approve?” 

“I… I’m not used to asking for approval.” said Katara. “My mother died when I was eight. Sokka and I were raised by Dad and Gran-gran, but Dad left a few years ago. After Mom died, I kind of… took over. Acted as Sokka’s mother even though I’m younger than he is. I guess I treated Kiyi the same way.” 

“I’m sorry.” said Suri. “I didn’t know.” 

“I’m sorry about the factory and Kiyi.” said Katara. 

Suri touched her arm. “Hey,” said Suri, “You don’t have to be everyone’s mom anymore. I can do that.” 

“Thanks.” said Katara. She hugged the older woman, feeling her skin against the side of your face. Suri reminded Katara of her own mother. Katara knew she missed her mother, but she didn’t expect to cry. 

That night, Katara sat by the river. They had tried to clean it up, but it was still polluted. It would take time for the pollution to go away. On the bright side, the water was already looking a bit clearer. 

Suddenly, Katara saw something on the river. She looked up. It was a spirit in the form of a young woman surrounded by a cloud of mist. _It’s the Painted Lady_ , Katara realized. The spirit kept coming toward her. “Thank you.” she said before vanishing into the night. 


	12. Zuko Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While vacationing on Ember Island, Zuko learns about his past and his mission as the Avatar. Toph finds an effective but ethically questionable way to make money. Katara meets an innkeeper with a rare and terrifying skill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really long chapter(specifically the Zuko section). Also, the Katara section is unfinished because I really wanted to start writing the next chapter.

## Zuko

Zuko stood on the deck, looking at the sunset. The sea reflected its fiery beauty. Something about this moment made him want to bend. With Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and half a dozen servants on the ship, the safest option was to bend fire. 

As a kid, he’d sometimes struggled with firebending. His father regularly berated his bending, his morality, his love of water, and many other things. He hadn’t believed the crew on his ship when they said he was actually quite good. Then again, why would the Avatar spirit pick a child who was terrible at bending? Of course, he didn’t know he was the Avatar at the time. Nobody did. 

Now, the flames came easily to him. One swoop created a flame in his right hand. One more swoop formed a flame in his left. He did a few of his favorite training exercises. Then a gust of wind blew the fire in his face. Zuko looked around; nobody else was on deck. He might as well try to airbend. 

Airbending wasn’t anywhere near as natural as firebending, but it was getting easier over time. Zuko even managed to create an air shield. He considered waterbending, but that might rock the boat. Best to save it for later. 

The group was going to Zuko’s family’s summer house on Ember Island. It had been a long time since he’d been there. He didn’t actually want to go; his father had forced him and his sister to take a vacation there. The cook said that Ozai was planning something that he didn’t want his kids to know about. 

On the island, the four teenagers were greeted by twin old women named Lo and Li. Zuko didn’t like the small, odd-smelling, and heavily decorated house. Neither did Mai, who said that the beds looked like the beach puked on them. Ty Lee, on the other hand, was doing cartwheels on the floor in joy. 

“Be patient.” said the twins. “The beach has a way of smoothing jagged edges and revealing your true self.” 

The teenagers tried to enjoy a day on the beach. Zuko bought ice cream for Mai. She wasn’t interested, so Zuko ate it himself while he watched Ty Lee flirt with some boys. The girls played a game of kuai ball that somehow ended with Azula setting the net on fire. Zuko couldn’t put it out. 

That evening, they went to a party. Zuko didn’t really like parties, but he went to this one. He spent most of it standing in the corner, munching on snacks. Then Azula and Mai got into a fight, Ty Lee knocked out a couple guys, and all four were kicked out of the party. 

They sat around a campfire on the beach, near Zuko’s father’s house. When they ran low on wood, Zuko brought out a painting for them to burn. Ty Lee wondered why he would do that. He told her to mind her own business. 

They somehow ended up talking about their childhoods. Ty Lee had six sisters and was always vying for attention. Mai had to be well-behaved at all times. 

“So that’s why you don’t express yourself.” said Azula. 

“What about you, Azula?” asked Ty Lee. 

Azula was reluctant, but she told them about her past. “My own mother thought I was a monster.” she said. “She was right, of course, but it still hurt.” 

“At least it was her and not Father.” commented Zuko. “He taught me a permanent lesson on my face.” 

Zuko was thirteen when he got his scar. Probably too young to contribute in a war meeting and definitely too young to fight in an Agni Kai. The burn was so bad that it went through his eyelid, permanently blurring his vision in his left eye. That alone didn’t bother him much- he could compensate well enough with his right eye. The pain of being burned was gone in a few months, leaving only a large scar. Well, a scar and an aching psychic wound. 

“You seem angry.” said Mai. 

“I am angry.” said Zuko. 

“Well, then, who are you angry at?” asked Ty Lee. 

Zuko thought about that. “I don’t know.” he said. 

“Are you angry at us?” asked Ty Lee. 

“No.” said Zuko. 

“Angry at Father?” asked Azula. 

“No.” 

“Angry at Chan?” asked Mai. Chan was the guy who kicked them out of the party. 

“No.” 

“Then who are you angry at?” 

“I’m angry at… I’m angry at myself!” Zuko unintentionally made the fire burst upward in a torrent. “I searched for the Avatar for three years and found nothing. Then I betray my uncle, only to come here and realize that I don’t have a clue what I’m doing!” Amazingly, he managed to avoid any mention of the fact that he was the Avatar. 

“I don’t mind that.” said Mai, quickly kissing him. 

A few days later, Zuko was back at the palace. Late at night, he was given a mysterious note telling him to learn about his (great-?) great-grandfather’s death. Zuko asked Azula, who said he died peacefully in his sleep. However, Zuko found a secret message in the paper. The message led him to the catacombs. 

In the depths, Zuko found a secret account of Avatar Roku’s life. He and Fire Lord Sozin were good friends in childhood. He read about Roku’s training and marriage. Then he read about Sozin’s desire to expand his influence. Roku told him that it should not be done. Sozin ignored the Avatar’s warnings and invaded the Earth Kingdom, leading to massive tension between him and the Avatar. Then, when Roku was much older, a volcano erupted. He asked for Sozin’s help, but the Fire Lord left him to die on the island. 

This was a decent account, but it didn’t answer his question. He went to the jail and asked his uncle. 

“The note said I needed to learn about my great-great-grandfather’s death, but he was still alive at the end!” Zuko complained. 

“No he wasn’t.” said his uncle. “You have more than one great-great-grandfather. Your father is Fire Lord Sozin’s great-grandson. But your mother is Avatar Roku’s great-granddaughter. After five generations, the Avatar Spirit returned to the same bloodline. I don’t know why, but I know it happened for a reason.” 

He gave Zuko a familiar hairpiece. “This has been in our family for ages.” he said. “It is supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince.” 

Zuko took it. He had no idea how his uncle had gotten his hands on it, but it was familiar. Of course it was; he’d seen it in every statue, painting, and carving of Avatar Roku he’d ever seen. 

That night, Zuko had a dream. When he woke up, he only remembered one thing from his dream. Aang looking at him and saying “Go find your friends. Your family.” 

Zuko closed his eyes. “Aang,” he said, “what were you talking about? I don’t have friends, and my father and sister are right here.” 

Then he saw a girl in front of his closed eyes. A girl no older than ten, with dark brown hair, greenish-gray eyes, and a smile. It was Kiyi. He saw a darker-skinned girl wearing a Water Tribe dress and a similar boy. He saw a short girl wearing a green and tan dress and no shoes. He saw a woman with hazel-spotted gray eyes who looked like his mother. Wait a second… 

“Suri.” he said under his breath. “Kiyi. Katara. Sokka. Toph. Why should I go after them?” 

That was a good question. For starters, he still needed to learn earthbending. Toph was the best earthbender he knew. And Suri cared about him more than his- oh wait, she _was_ one of his birth parents. Well, she certainly cared more than the other one. 

Zuko shrugged. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.” he said. “Chezu, wake up!” 

Chezu woke up and looked at Zuko. Zuko put the bird’s harness on, then grabbed his shoes and dao swords. Luckily, he knew a bounty hunter with a shirshu. Actually, she’d kind of invaded his ship once while looking for a runaway. Suri had given Zuko her scarf back in Ba Sing Se. It would have his scent all over it by now, but hopefully hers was still on it as well. 

Zuko managed to find the bounty hunter in a bar. She was gambling with a group of men and apparently winning. Zuko walked over and asked who she was. 

“Why are you asking?” she answered. 

“Because I’m looking for someone.” he said. 

She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve seen you before.” she said. “On that little ship out near the Earth Kingdom. Looks like you and the old man decided to come home.” 

“Can you do it or not?” asked Zuko impatiently. 

“Do what?” she asked. 

“Find someone for me. I’ll pay you… fifty gold pieces.” Zuko knew he had that much money stashed in his family’s beach house somewhere. 

The woman’s eyes perked up. “Who are you looking for?” she asked. 

“Just a woman from the Earth Kingdom and a few kids. Nobody important.” 

“You wouldn’t be paying me that much if they weren’t important.” she said. 

“They’re important to me. Not to you or the rest of the nation.” Zuko clarified. “I have a scarf she gave me a few weeks ago. You can use that. Deal?” 

The bounty hunter looked at him with her sharp eyes. “Deal.” 

## Toph

“These look good.” said Sokka. 

Sokka and Toph were buying food in a local market. Normally, the responsibility fell on Suri, but she was training Katara and Kiyi. Toph insisted that she and Sokka were responsible enough to buy the food themselves. Toph reached out to feel what Sokka was referring to. Some sort of fruit. 

“How much does it cost?” she asked. 

“Six silver pieces for a pound.” said Sokka. 

Toph dug into her pockets and retrieved four coins. “This is all I got.” she said. 

“I spent all my money at the other place.” said Sokka. “How about we buy a half pound for three silver pieces?” 

“That works.” said Toph. 

They bought the fruit, but now they only had one silver piece left. “I hope Suri has some more money at home.” said Sokka. 

“I don’t think so.” said Toph. “If she stashed money in the wall or something, I would know about it. Besides, she said that was all the money we had left.” 

Sokka stopped. “Hey, Toph, look.” he said. 

Toph stared at him and gestured to her face. “I’m blind.” she said. 

“Oh, right.” he said. “There’s a guy playing some sort of game with overturned cups over… there.” he moved Toph’s arm to show where the game was. All Toph saw in that direction was a couple large shadows, but she could hear people talking and coins being dropped on stone. 

“I think they’re betting or something.” said Toph. “Whatever it is, we can win some money from it.” 

“Toph, Suri wouldn’t want us to spend our last silver piece on a bet.” said Sokka. 

Toph shrugged. “It’ll be fine.” she said. 

It turned out that the “game” was being played on a metal slab. If you could correctly guess which cup the rock was under, you won some money. Toph sat down and asked if she could play. The guy said yes. While he shuffled the cups, Toph tapped the metal. With her earth sense, she could feel where the rock was. When it was time for her to guess, she deliberately pointed a little too far to the left so the dealer wouldn’t suspect anything. Even so, she was right and won five silver pieces. 

Toph played another round, betting forty silver pieces against Sokka’s sword. She knew Sokka wouldn’t like that- he’d made that sword himself while training with the swordmaster Piandao. Luckily for both of them, she guessed correctly. They ended up with a total of forty-five silver pieces. 

“You cheated, didn’t you?” asked Sokka once they were away from the dealer. 

“He was cheating, too!” said Toph. “I felt the rock move _off the metal_. The only reason it didn’t fall was because I stopped it. I was cheating a cheater.” 

“I can agree with that logic.” said Sokka. “So, what are we gonna do with the money?” 

“Spend it.” said Toph. 

With a bit of bargaining, they bought three days’ worth of food with the money. Katara asked how they’d managed to buy so much. 

“Clearance sale.” Toph lied. Katara didn’t catch the lie. 

Over the next two days, Sokka and Toph carried out more scams. When somebody offered twenty gold pieces to whoever could hit a hammer hard enough to ring a bell, Toph secretly earthbended the hammer. When she played a dice game, Sokka signaled when to earthbend the dice. Her favorite scam was the one where she pretended to get run over by a carriage. Sokka disguised himself and bribed the man in the carriage so he wouldn’t tell anyone. 

On the third day, Suri confronted her about the scams. “You can’t keep doing this.” said Suri. “These scams are dangerous and immoral.” 

“They were cheating!” Toph defended. “I was cheating the cheater!” 

“That doesn’t make it right.” said Suri. 

Sokka told her that he found a wanted poster of her. Whoever wrote it called her “the runaway”. Toph liked that nickname. She managed to bribe Sokka into not telling Katara or Suri by giving him money for an atlas. Sokka wanted an atlas. 

Unfortunately, the tension between Suri and Toph resulted in a fight. There was a lot of flying dirt, sand, water, ice, and mud angrily slung around. It finally ended when Toph threw a rock at Suri. “Ow!” Suri howled. “That hit my eye!” 

Toph stopped. “I’m sorry.” she said. Even though she was blind, she knew how painful eye injuries were. “Are you okay?” 

“Aside from the eye, yes.” she said. Toph heard her freeze water. Unlike Katara, Suri’s healing skills were limited to putting bandages and ice on wounds and giving hugs. Even that had been extremely helpful when they were traveling through the Earth Kingdom on an ostrich-horse. Especially since Kiyi kept falling off of said ostrich-horse. 

“I shouldn’t have hit you.” said Toph. 

“To be honest, we shouldn’t have been fighting.” said Suri. 

“We were only fighting because you didn’t like my scams.” said Toph. 

“Yup.” said Suri. “Listen, Toph, I know you were trying to help, but you kind of did more harm than good by scamming people. And not just to the scammers; I saw a wanted poster with your face on it this morning.” 

“Oh, right.” said Toph. “Sokka told me about that.” 

“Sokka really doesn’t like us fighting.” said Suri. “He even gave me a letter that was supposedly sent by you. That obviously didn’t work out.” 

Toph giggled. For such a bright guy, Sokka could be pretty stupid at times. 

“You know,” said Toph, “You can be really annoying at times, but I think you care for me more than my own mom ever did.” 

“Aw, thank you.” said Suri. “Now, let’s clean up this mess.” 

“What mess?” asked Toph jokingly. 

“The mess we made while we were fighting.” said Suri. 

Toph helped Suri clean up the mess. While they cleaned, Toph asked Suri how long they were going to be living in a cave. Suri said, “until I can figure out where Zuko is and what he’s doing.” 

“Why are you so bent on helping Zuko, anyway?” asked Toph. 

“He needs us.” said the waterbender. “He would never admit it, but he needs us. Besides, he’s my son.” 

“Yeah,” said Toph sarcastically. “I’m sure the Avatar needs a few displaced waterbenders, a blind girl, and a guy with a boomerang.” 

“Very funny, Toph.” said Suri. “Seriously, though, he needs us more than he realizes. Nobody else except Iroh is going to help him. Well, Iroh and maybe the guy who taught him airbending. Heck, his own _father_ doesn’t even know he’s the Avatar.” 

“How do you know that?” 

“I heard someone mention that they’re still searching for him a few days ago. If Ozai knew, he’d call off the search.” 

Suri had a point. As angry, stubborn, and honor-crazy as Zuko was, he had a lot of problems right now. She hadn’t even mentioned the fact that Zuko was supposed to save the world. 

The next day, Toph and Katara pulled the ultimate scam. Katara despised Toph’s scams, but she insisted that she had a “fun side”. Amazingly, Suri approved it under the condition that Toph never scammed anyone again. First, Katara turned her in to the police. The police threw Toph in a cell and gave Katara the promised reward. Meanwhile, Toph bent the bars of her cage enough to slip out. That was the hardest part- metalbending took a lot of time and effort, though it was slowly getting easier. The reward was worth it. 

Toph was woken up at an ungodly early hour the morning after that. “It’s Zuko.” Kiyi explained. Toph got up and followed Kiyi out of the cave. 

Sure enough, Zuko was either crouching or kneeling outside the cave. Katara, Sokka, and Suri were asking him questions. Toph crept closer to him- if she got close enough, she could read his heart rate. She’d done it enough times in the city to have a pretty good idea how his heart usually behaved. After some time, she found the vibrations coming from his heart. Jesus Christ, it was fast. And his breathing was fast, too, like he’d just… 

“How’d you get here?” asked Toph. 

“I- I walked.” said Zuko. His heart rate went even higher. 

“Liar.” said Toph. “You didn’t walk, you _ran_. Judging by your heart rate and breathing, you were just running a few minutes ago. So why were you running?” 

“How do you know that?” asked Zuko. 

“I can feel it through the ground.” said Toph. “Earth sense. Maybe I can teach it to you someday if you want.” 

“But I’m not… oh wait, I am.” said Zuko. “Darn hole in my pants.” 

Toph snickered. 

“Wait a second… you can tell if people are lying?” asked Sokka. 

“Basically, yeah.” said Toph. 

“Then why didn’t you tell us that when we were interrogating Jet?” 

“Doesn’t work on strangers. Zuko was at our house a lot in Ba Sing Se. That’s how I can tell.” 

“Sokka, you’re missing the point.” said Suri. “Zuko, why were you running?” 

“Because I wanted to find you before the sun went up.” he said. “I didn’t want to be caught out there in broad daylight, looking for some refugees.” 

“How’d you find us, anyway?” asked Katara. 

“Paid a woman with a shirshu. She used the scarf Suri gave me in Ba Sing Se.” 

“A _shirshu_? Cool!” said Kiyi. 

“Why should we trust you?” asked Sokka. “You betrayed us in Ba Sing Se.” 

“Because…” Zuko couldn’t answer. 

This led to a debate among the others. Katara and Sokka didn’t trust him and wanted him to leave immediately. Suri and Toph thought he should at least be given a chance. Except for the lie about walking, Zuko was being honest. She figured if he paid a woman and went out in the middle of the night to find them, whatever he wanted must be important. Trying to convince Katara and Sokka that he had good intentions seemed impossible. 

Finally, Kiyi spoke up. “None of you have asked the big question.” she said. “Zuko, what do _you_ want?” 

Zuko paused. “I want to end my father’s reign.” he said. 

“Of course you do.” said Katara. “You’re his heir.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” said Zuko. “I… I don’t want anyone else to get hurt by him.” 

Toph realized he was talking about the Earth Kingdom. About all the people who were killed in the conquering of Ba Sing Se. Maybe even about the Air Nomads and waterbenders who’d been killed by the Fire Lords before Ozai. But at the same time, something in his voice made her think it was more than that. 

Toph grabbed his arm. “Come on.” she said. “You can at least go in the cave and take a nap or something.” 

Zuko’s arm was tense. Toph put her fingers on his wrist to feel his heartbeat. Maybe she couldn’t look at people’s eyes, but she could peek into their hearts. Zuko was… not quite scared or angry, but not exactly calm either. Toph puzzled about it for a minute before seeing the answer. 

“You’re not used to being touched, are you?” she asked. 

“Am I supposed to answer that?” he asked. 

“Get used to it.” said Toph. “Kiyi’s a little clingy.” 

“I’m not clingy!” Kiyi protested. 

Eventually, Suri let him stay and Katara and Sokka just kind of tolerated him. He was actually pretty useful to have around. For starters, they didn’t have to eat cold food when the fire went out; Zuko could heat it up in a matter of seconds. His hawk could catch fish and rodents and return them to Zuko. He could also airbend, but that need literally never came up. 

“Since you’re here,” said Toph, “you might as well learn earthbending.” 

Zuko was surprisingly willing to do that. Toph started with the stuff her earthbending tutor had taught her for years. He never allowed her to go beyond the basics, even when she’d clearly mastered them. Most of her earthbending training actually came from badger-moles. Zuko learned the basics fairly quickly and said that it was easier than air or waterbending. 

“I don’t know about airbending, but he really struggled with waterbending.” said Suri. “You kind of got lucky, honestly.” 

“I know.” said Toph. “I was there.” She’d heard many tales of frustration about Zuko’s waterbending back in Ba Sing Se. She’d also smelled the ash from when he got really frustrated and burned something. Luckily, Suri had always put it out before things got real bad. 

Before long, Zuko had settled into the daily routine of the cave. But that routine would not last. 

##  Katara

Katara wasn’t sure an inn in the middle of the woods was the best place to get a job. In fact, she was fairly sure it was a  _ terrible  _ place to go job-hunting. But since Toph stopped scamming people, they needed a new source of income. The other option was leaving, and Suri still refused to do that. Katara had asked the villagers, but they either didn’t need her help or couldn’t pay her. So here she was, knocking on a door. 

An old woman answered. “Who’s this?” she asked. 

“My name’s Sapphire.” said Katara. “I’m looking for work.” 

“Can you cook? Clean? Do laundry?” asked the old woman. 

“Yes, yes, and yes.” said Katara. 

“Well then,” said the woman, “come in and we’ll discuss working hours and wages. My name’s Hama. Nice to meet you.” 

Katara and Hama sat in the inn and talked until they found a satisfactory arrangement. Katara was to come every afternoon to clean, make the beds, and cook dinner. The inn didn’t have many guests and the few that it had rarely bothered her. 

She wouldn’t say it aloud, but her new job allowed her to get away from Zuko. She put up with his presence at home, but that didn’t mean she forgave him. Suri and Kiyi wanted her to give him a second chance. Katara told them that she’d already given him a second chance and he’d betrayed them. And no, she wasn’t giving him a third chance. 

One day, Katara was making soup alone in the kitchen. Because she was alone, she was free to waterbend… or so she thought. While she was bending the soup instead of stirring it, someone entered the room. 

Katara turned around, accidentally spilling some soup. It was Hama. “Hi, Hama.” she said. “Is everything okay?” 

“Yes.” said Hama. “You never told me you’re a waterbender.” 

Katara smiled awkwardly. “Well, there aren’t supposed to be any waterbenders in the Fire Nation, so it would… you know…” 

“I do know.” said Hama. “I’m a waterbender, too.” 

“You are?” The inn was the last place Katara expected to find a waterbender. 

Hama responded by bending some nearby water. 

“But… how?” asked Katara. 

“Sit down.” said Hama. “I have a long story to tell you.” 

It turned out that Hama was born in the Southern Water Tribe. She was just a girl when the raids started. The raiders took more and more benders away until she was the only one left. Then they took her as well. She was kept in a cage with no access to water, but she managed to escape using a secret technique. 

“What’s the technique?” asked Katara. 

“Bloodbending.” said Hama. “I’ll show it to you someday.” 

Hama was eager to show Katara the old Southern techniques. Most of them were very similar to the techniques Suri used, but Hama had a few extras. She showed Katara how to pull water out of the air and the plants. Unfortunately, doing the latter killed the plants. When Katara pointed that out, Hama said that waterbenders in a foreign land did whatever was necessary to survive. 

Hama told Katara to come on a full moon if she wanted to learn bloodbending. Katara was nervous- the townspeople had many rumors about people disappearing in the woods during the full moon. Hama pointed out that that was when their power was strongest. So Katara agreed, but she took two waterskins with her. 

Hama started the session with a story. While imprisoned, she’d been desperate to find water. Eventually, she found water… in the bodies of others. She bent the very blood inside rats, then progressed to humans. It was a difficult technique and could only be done during a full moon. Katara copied her motions, but was reluctant to actually bloodbend. 

Then Hama left and came back with a rat. She ordered Katara to bloodbend the rat. Katara didn’t want to hurt the animal, but she bloodbended it anyway. Hama praised her. Then Katara freed the rat and they went inside. 

“You should go home.” said Hama. 

“No.” said Katara. “I’m tired, and the woods are dangerous during the full moon. I’ll sleep here and pay you tomorrow.” 

“Fine.” said Hama. “You can take any empty room.” 

Katara picked a room and crawled into bed, but she couldn’t sleep. She got up and looked out the window. Hama was still outside, walking into the forest. Katara watched her from the window. 

Hama walked toward the village, which was odd. Why would she go there in the middle of the night? Then Katara stepped outside and heard a faint scream. She ran toward the scream, but tripped over a branch and fell. 

_ Who’s screaming? _ , Katara thought. Then she remembered: it was a full moon. People disappeared on a full moon. Only one person had survived whatever happened- an old man named Ding. When Katara had talked to him, he’d described his limbs moving against his will, as if he was… a puppet. 

A puppet. 

Katara remembered her bloodbending lesson. She remembered moving the rat and the complete control she’d had over its movements. Almost as if it were a living puppet and Katara was its master. But if  _ Ding _ was the puppet… 

Katara got up and ran toward the scream in a frenzy. She wasn’t sure what she would do when she got there, but she had to do something. 

Eventually, Katara saw the sight she dreaded. Two villagers were walking unevenly up a mountain. Behind them, Hama was bending, but no water moved.  _ She was bending the villagers’ very blood _ . 

“Stop!” shouted Katara. 


End file.
